


Off to the Races

by cheshirecatstreasure



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horse Racing, Angst and Humor, Aomine Daiki & Momoi Satsuki Friendship, Aomine Daiki Being an Asshole, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Horse Racing, Implied Sexual Content, Inappropriate Humor, Kise Being Kise, Kise Ryouta-centric, Lucky Items (Kuroko no Basuke), M/M, Minor Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya, Model Kise Ryouta, Romantic Fluff, alternative universe, aokise - Freeform, kagami x kuroko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-02-05 09:06:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1812901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshirecatstreasure/pseuds/cheshirecatstreasure
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kise and his best friend Kasamatsu get the opportunity to learn horse riding at an elite riding school attended by many famous people. One of them is Kasamatu's idol and the son of the stable's owner - Aomine Daiki  - who turns out to be a bit more bitter than the articles described him. Despite being one of the best riders in Japan, Aomine deeply hates the sport. Kise and Aomine develop an unlikely friendship and, as it will, friendship slowly turns into something more. </p><p>But will their relationship be able to survive whilst surrounded by so much nonacceptance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Boys Are Here!!

**Author's Note:**

> off to the races
> 
> Fig. an expression characterizing the activity or excitement that is just beginning; [we are] leaving for something interesting or exciting.

“Dude this is going to be the best gap year imaginable! I can just feel it!” Kasamatsu had been babbling on like this for the entire bus ride and, as much as I appreciated his enthusiasm, I remained somewhat skeptical.

  
“Yeah, it was awesome of your relative to fix us up with spots in that riding school – I hear the place is booked for months in advance.” I answered, trying to sound equally as excited.

  
“It’s not months, it’s years!” He exclaimed as his arms shot forward to shake my shoulders, an elated grin on his face. Noticing my slightly less elated expression, he sighed and brought his face even closer, as though trying to see through me, and spoke in a disappointed tone, “Kise, man you don’t look like it was that awesome at all.”

  
“Kasamatsu you are the one person who should understand. I am excited for you – getting to try your favorite sport in a high-class place like that – but me… I don’t think I’ll enjoy it as much.” I said, staring impassively out the window as the countryside sped past, feeling a sad, inexplicable longing. For what? A challenge perhaps, a sport I could not master right away.

_'Would this be it?'_

  
“This could be it you know,” My best friend seemed to read my mind. Leaning back in his seat he appraised me with a mildly irritated look, “Look, I know I say this about every sport – but this one involves animals and you’ve never tried a sport involving animals before. Anyway this is damn important to me so can you not with the negativity?” I smiled meekly at his half-assed attempt to cheer me up.

  
“Ok I’ll stop complaining, I don’t want to ruin your mood,” My voice trailed off as I continued to gaze out the window. The vast, unkempt fields and sparse housing gave off a strong, the-middle-of-nowhere vibe, “Umm… are you sure this is the right way? We’ve been on this bus for two hours now and it sure doesn’t seem as though we’re anywhere near the stables… or anywhere else for that matter.”

  
“Are you questioning my knowledge of the location of the utter most supreme horseback riding school to ever grace the face of this unworthy planet?” He blurted out, stretching out his open-palmed hand in an overly dramatic way.

  
“I wouldn’t dare,” I chuckled at his fangirl-like devotion, “But why is it so far?” I whined, reclining in my seat.

  
“Trust me this is normal for riding schools. Besides, I’d go to the end of the Earth for this place. Not only is it the biggest riding school in Japan – it’s Aomine Daiki’s riding school!” His eyes positively glistened as he proceeded to chirp away about his idol. “He has already won the nationals three years in a row, he was also the youngest rider ever to qualify into the NHC championship, his best time is-” here he paused to feverishly flip through his backpack; in search of his trusty Aomine Fact File (which he’d carry everywhere, the obsessed idiot).

  
“Damn, he’s hot.” I interjected, swiftly snatching the small picture that came lose out of Kasamatsu’s backpack, “No wonder you’re so obsessed with him. I’d ride that.” I chimed, only to be shut up by Kasamatsu’s astounded expression.

  
“Kise you can be so blatantly gay sometimes.” He chuckled at me, “And you say that every time you see his picture.”

  
“Because he looks like a perfectly sculpted, tan Greek god in every picture!” I exclaimed, admiring the dark-skinned boy’s ridiculously perfect features, “and he looks to be around our age! God dammit, I’m getting excited too!”

  
“Excited?” He eyed me down with a kinky smirk, “Of course he’s our age, I told you that countless times!”

  
“Not like that- I just… I’m more motivated to go through with this plan. Thanks for bringing me along.” I beamed at him, just as the bus came, at long last, to a stop besides a shabby looking pole, so eroded with rust it was a miracle it still managed to stand.

  
“Not a problem, man.” He replied, shaking his head in a gesture of resign, “Oh look, there’s Midorima – I hope we’ll get along. I heard he’s a ‘difficult’ person” Kasamatsu was pointing to a tall guy, casually walking towards the rusted post.

  
“Is that seaweed on his head? No way that’s natural.” I remarked as we made our way towards Kasamatsu’s relative. We must have already been in his hearing distance, because, just as the words left my mouth, his hand dashed to his hair, and he shot me the dirtiest of looks.

  
“That’s not a hairdo – that’s a hair don’t,” My best friend cackled in one of his glorious white-girl impressions, and I burst out laughing a little too loudly. He put a finger to his lips and murmured, half-heartedly trying to suppress another round of giggles, “Ssshhh dude, I don’t want him to hate us right away.”

  
_‘Great way to start of a new friendship, we haven’t even greeted him and we’ve already managed to insult him at least three times.’_

I sighed internally, and put on my best apologetic smile as we neared the horrendously green-haired boy.

  
“Tactless. Are you perhaps a Sagittarius?” He spoke in a flat tone, eyeing down both Kasamatsu and me with a piercing stare that could make anyone feel uncomfortable.  
“Errm… I’m a Gemini. At least I think so.” I answered, slightly confused, as his eyes continued to scrutinize my every detail.

“Gemini, let’s see,” he pondered, never taking that slashing stare off of me. This guy wasn’t just difficult, he was outright creepy, “Are you sure that you really want to learn horse-riding?” he questioned after a long pause, and I was thrown off by the accuracy of his question.

  
“Matter of fact, I’m not entirely sure.” I replied slowly, almost cautiously, looking over at Kasamatsu who rolled his eyes at me.

“Well that’s only to be expected. Gemini are not only indecisive, they also have a short attention span, therefore get bored easily which in turn leads to inconsistency – as a Gemini you are naturally prone to never finish what you’ve started.” He delivered his speech in a business-like voice, as Kasamatsu and I stared at him flabbergasted.

  
“Don’t you think it’s a little rude as fuck to judge people based on their horoscope?” Kasamatsu blurted out, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

  
“Horoscopes do not lie.” He retorted, turning his dead serious face towards by best friend, then right back at me. His green eyes were like daggers as they traveled along the length of my body for the thousandth time, “Your complexion is excellent and your hair undamaged despite the bleach. You are also dressed in well-fitted clothing which leads me to believe you work in a profession where you are often on public display – as expected of the superficial Gemini.”

  
“Kindly shut the fuck up, what gives you the right to be so condescending?” Kasamatsu shot back at him, “Someone kicked your ball-sack earlier today? If not that can be fixed.”  
“Headstrong and arrogant: a typical Leo.” Midorima did not seem at all shaken by his violent outburst – his voice was so calm it was infuriating.

  
Kasamatsu said nothing at first, which was never a good sign. Instead he let out a deep, irritated sigh and, placing his hand rather forcefully on Midorima’s shoulder, spoke in a hushed voice, full of venom, “Listen seaweed-head, this membership is damn important to me and so I… t-thank y-you… for arranging it.” He hissed through gritted teeth, “You cannot imagine the immensity of the fuck that I do not give about what you think of me. However, Kise is my best friend so you will not insult him or I will choke you with your own goddamn reins.”

  
“Possessive: yet another cliché trait. Also you wouldn’t be able to reach that high.” Midorima retorted swiftly in a dispassionate tone, and then turned to me, “We best get going, or you’ll be late for your first riding lesson.”

  
By this point I was way too creeped out to try to continue the argument, so I followed silently. To my surprise Kasamatsu did the same, and so we made our way along the narrow dirt track. As we walked I took a good look at Midorima for the first time. He was tall, and wore a camel-coloured jacket paired with tight, beige riding breeches and russet, knee-high boots. A golden-filmed white lily badge glistened on his chest, bearing the phrase ‘Shiroyuri Stables’. Altogether, it was a pretty cool uniform.

  
“So tell me, what’s it like working with, generally being in the presence of, Aomine-san?” The awe and sheer excitement was evident in Kasamatsu’s voice, all anger forgotten in the face of his idol.

  
“Nothing like you think it may be, the guy is a total prick. He’s selfish and rude – not to mention is awful form, how does he even manage to stay on the horse with that slouch?” He replied, his face contorting into a degrading scowl, as though the simple thought of Aomine repulsed him.

  
“That’s a pretty harsh thing to say, Midorima-kun.” I retorted, stretching my arm out in front of my friend who was by now well beyond the bounds of fury, “Do you reckon his disagreeable character is due to his horoscope?” I was trying to be nice; if there was one thing modeling taught me, it was never to make enemies of those higher in the hierarchy than you.

  
“There’s a difference between being bound by your horoscope, and simply having a shit personality.” He snorted, pushing back his glasses.

  
“Brutal words coming from you, cousin.” Kasamatsu barked back. Just then we turned a corner, and the dirt track gave way to a neatly paved road.

  
“Second cousin. Well, we’re here; Shiroyuri Stables” Midorima said, pointing to an absolutely immense building that looked like a mansion more than anything else. It was cream-coloured, two stories high and had grand wooden stables on either side, “I must take my leave now, and I strongly suggest you give up on so much as talking to Aomine, let alone becoming friends.”

  
And with that Midorima headed off towards the right-hand stables, leaving us hopelessly alone. We decided to head to the grand white staircase, which led to a pair of mahogany doors we assumed must be the stable’s main entrance.

  
“What’s up? What can I help you with?” A red-haired guy, standing with arms folded over his chest, called out to us just as we entered the lavish reception area. He wore his uniform in a much less formal manner than Midorima – the sleeves of his jacket were rolled up to the elbows, shirt crinkled and unbuttoned at the neck. I noticed one of his arms was bandaged.

  
“Hello, we’d like to check in as new members. Our names are Kise Ryouta, and Kasamatsu Yukio.” I replied, excitement steadily building up inside of me.

  
“Hookay… gotcha!” He chimed, more to himself than to us, as he clicked away on the slick, white computer, “You’ve been checked in. If you gimme a moment, I’ll go fetch your uniforms.”

  
“Sure, thank you for the help.” Kasamatsu beamed at him, his face alight with feverish enthusiasm.

  
“There you go guys.” The red-haired boy spoke in a friendly tone as he handed us our neatly folded uniforms, “and don’t forget the badges.”  
I reached my hand out to him and he placed two, glittering badges in it.

  
“Excuse me umm…” my voice trailed off as I didn’t know his name.

  
“Kagami Taiga, nice to meet ya.”

  
“KAGAMI TAIGA?! The Kagami Taiga – holder of the world record for the highest jump in last year’s National Hunt?” Kasamatsu exclaimed, slapping his arms down on the wooden desk a little too loudly.

  
“Proud to say I am. Pretty awesome, huh?” Kagami grinned smugly, and then turned to me, “Yea, so what’d you wanna know?”

  
“Kagami-san, I don’t mean to be rude but our badges have bronze rims and yours is gold. Do these rims signify anything?” I heard Yukio heave an exaggerated sigh beside me.

  
“Yeah, regular members like yourselves and trainees get the bronze ones, flat racers get silver, and jump racers get gold.” Kagami answered, counting the colours, “There’s also black – that’s for the regular staff that doesn’t participate in tournaments.”

  
“Dude, I told you all this already.” Kasamatsu groaned, “Do you ever pay attention?”

  
Kagami chuckled at his remark, “Good luck you two. You should get going now of else your first lesson will finish before you even get there – tracks are just behind the building.”

  
****

  
“Secondly, there’s the trot – this is a two-beat gait, with a suspension when the horse switches from one diagonal to the other.” Our instructor spoke in a calm voice, “Next is the canter, which is a three-beat, rocking-motion gait with a suspension after each stride. Lastly is the famous gallop – a four-beat gait that feels like a fast canter except you have to slightly raise out of our saddle, unlike the canter where your position remains stationary.”

  
He stood beside the horse, which was light grey all over except the very ends of its legs that slowly faded into a light brown, and was he short enough to comfortably fit under its head. His hair and eyes were light blue, and a silver-rimmed badge glistened on his small chest.

  
“Kise dude, that is Kuroko Tetsuya!” Kasamatsu’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You gotta know him! He’s the Phantom Rider!”

  
“Sorry no… But it sounds epic. Is everyone at this place famous? I mean the receptionist is a world record holder.” I mused moreso to myself than Kasamatsu, closely observing as Kuroko-san agilely mounted the horse to demonstrate the gait. The way he worked the reins, gently but surely, and the way he and the horse seemed to move together, so perfectly synchronized, was without a doubt one of the most graceful things I have ever witnessed in my life. My diligent eyes recorded his every movement, soaking up each detail of his posture and rhythm.

  
“Wow you are so good at this.” I blurted out, just as the instructor returned to our small group, loud enough for everyone to turn their head towards me.

  
“Thank you.” He answered, getting of his horse in one swift motion, “Would you like to try?”

  
“Errmm... I don’t think I-” I began to protest, but was cut short by a sharp jab between my ribs.

  
“Just go, give it a try.” Kasamatsu smiled at me encouragingly.

  
The truth was, I hesitated not because I was afraid of failure. Not because I thought I couldn’t do it. On the contrary, it was because I already knew I could and, just as rapidly as it came, my excitement vanished.

  
_‘This time is no different from any other.’_ I thought to myself, slowly making my way towards the front of the group. But upon reaching the horse I realized that Kuroko was no longer there. I frantically looked around me, but the guy simply vanished. I looked towards Kasamatsu, but he seemed equally confused.

  
“Make sure your helmet is properly secure before you begin.” His composed voice reached me from right beside me and I instinctively jumped back out of surprise.  
“How long where you here?!” I stammered out.

  
“The whole time,” his voice showed no signs of either anger or confusion, “I suggest you only try the walk for now.”

  
The handed me the reigns and took a step back. With cursed easiness I mounted the horse in one swift action. My body perfectly repeated Kuroko’s movements, and the horse followed my lead without objection. It was deeply aggravating – how effortless it was for me to transfer from one gait to another. Before I knew it I was galloping across the tracks. The entire group gawked at me in sheer disbelief as I lightly sprung of the horse. Only Kasamatsu’s face showed a different emotion – defeat mingled with disgruntlement was mirrored in our faces.

  
“This is a beginner’s class.” Kuroko once again appeared seemingly out of nowhere – the guy had so little presence it was unsettling. He appraised me closely, his eyes lingering on my badge, “Are you sure you are in the right group? We may be on the tracks, but this isn’t the flat racing course.”

  
“Yea, you must believe me this was my first time on a horse.” I answered, visibly embarrassed.

  
I was very much aware that no one in the group believed me. From their looks I could tell I had been dismissed, like so many times before, as an attention-seeking showoff. Kuroko however, merely nodded and continued with the lesson.

  
“Sorry, you two!” I heard him call after Yukio and me, as we were about to leave with the rest on the group, “Could we talk, my name is Kuroko Tatsuya – I don’t think you were there when I introduced myself.”

  
“Of course Kuroko-san. I am Kasamatsu Yukio, and this is Kise Ryouta.” He beamed at Kuroko.

  
“You don’t need to add the suffix – we’re the same age after all.” Kuroko smiled for the first time since I saw him, “So, Kise-kun was this really your first time on a horse? I don’t mean to doubt you, but beginners can’t be that good.”

  
“Yeah… this happens all the time.” I breathed, and ended up him the whole story of how I easily master every sport I try.

  
By the end of it, the three of us had become friends – Kuroko was surprisingly easy to talk to. Though I appreciated his promise to help me find a challenge, I had the feeling this would be just as boring of a gap year as I anticipated.


	2. Where's My Epic Background Music?

“Are you sure about this?” Kagami sounded doubtful, “I mean you’ve only been here two weeks.”

“Yea, I’ll be fine on my own, besides no one in the beginner’s group likes me.” I sighed, reclining deeper into the comfy sofa.

“That’s true.” Kuroko stated bluntly, just as Kagami protectively wrapped his good arm around Kuroko’s shoulders.

“What about you? Are they treating you well?” Kagami’s voice was full of concern for his boyfriend. In the two weeks I knew them; I have discovered them to be the loveliest couple I've ever met. Kagami went so far as to becoming a receptionist after he broke his arm and couldn’t compete for a while – just to be able to see Kuroko every day. Whenever they were together, Kuroko smiled at least three times as much as normally, and Kagami fussed over him like a mother hen.

 “Don’t worry, Kagami-kun. I’m fine.” He smiled, nuzzling into the tall boy’s chest.

“If anyone so much as looks at you funny, you come and tell me – I’ll set them straight.” Kagami replied, in a somewhat threatening tone. I was becoming more and more glad to be on his good side.

“I will, but don’t do anything rash. Remember your arm is still healing.” Kuroko mumbled back. Kagami kissed his forehead, and then turned to me.

“Kise, flat racing isn’t my thing but I can teach you the basics. Of course only if you’d be interested.” Kagami offered.

“Wow Kagamicchi! That would be awesome.” I beamed at him across the coffee table, “Riding itself is actually more fun than I thought it would be – despite the lack of challenge.” I frowned slightly.

“Perhaps you should look for a challenge in the form of a person, and not just a sport.” Kuroko suggested. I looked over at him and opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. The statement threw me so off guard; all I could muster was a weak nod.

 “You could be right Tetsu.” Kagami smiled at him kindly, "Only who? Give him some time and the guy will be better than me. For now, we’ll get you a new horse and get practicing. Lait, though she’s been doing a great job keeping up with you until now, isn’t suited for high-speed riding.” Kagami grinned back at me.

“With Kagami-kun’s help, you might even be able to qualify for the upcoming tournament.” Kuroko added, causing a smug grin to spread over the latter’s face

“I understand. Umm…” I hesitated, not knowing if this was an appropriate request, but Kuroko beckoned me eagerly to continue, “Would it be ok if I chose the horse myself?”

“Of course it would be Kise-kun.” Kuroko always spoke in such a soothing, mild voice. He was a complete contrast to Kagami’s rough manner.

‘ _A classic example of the ‘opposites attract’ principle.’_ I thought, smiling to myself, just as Kasamatsu entered the lavish lounge  where we were sitting. He looked like a wreck as he sluggishly made his way over to us.

“Any luck today?” I asked as my friend stood over me with his head bowed. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head no.

“Kasamatsu-kun, what’s wrong?” Kuroko asked, sounding concerned.

“It’s been over two weeks and I haven’t even caught a glimpse of Aomine-san.” Kasamatsu groaned, completely dejected.

“Wait, all this time, you’ve been looking for Aomine?” Kagami interjected loudly.

“Aha,” he breathed, turning to look at the red-head.

“But Aomine-kun is not here.” Kuroko stated, calm as ever.

“Yea I figured that much out.” Kasamatsu’s sadness was gradually turning into anger. He folded his arms across his chest, and exhaled deeply to calm himself down.

“No, what Tetsu meant is that Aomine is _never_ here.” Kagami explained, slightly tightening his grip on Kuroko’s shoulder, “You have a higher chance of winning the lottery than seeing _that_  jerk here.”

“What?! Don’t fuck with me like that!” Kasamatsu yelped, his legs giving way so that he landed on the sofa beside me with a dull _thud._

“Uumm… Y-Yukiocchi, you ok?” I asked, not sure what to do.

“W-what do you mean Aomine-san’s never here?” Kasamatsu blurted out in frenzy, “He _has_ to train, and he _has to come here.”_ He insisted.

“Kagami-kun, don’t scare Kasamatsu-kun like that,” Kuroko said, gently lacing his fingers with the latter’s, “The regionals are in two months, right?” He inquired of his boyfriend, and Kagami nodded, realization passing over his face.

“You’re in luck then, Kasamastu.” Kagami grinned at my friend, though it was easy to tell he felt bad for his earlier words, “Whenever there’s a tournament ahead, Ao’s old man hauls him here to train. If my memory serves right, the prick should be arriving in no less than five weeks.”

“You mean to say Aomine doesn’t train, apart from when his father forces him to?” I struggled to believe such a revelation. Beside me Kasamatsu gawked at Kagami, his mouth open as though he wanted to speak but couldn't find words.

 At that moment, the antique grandfather clock sounded, signaling a full hour. Kagami looked over towards it, and shot up from his seat at though electrocuted.

“Shit, I can’t believe it’s already three! Tetsu, guys, I need to leave my shift began fifteen minutes ago.” Kagami hastily apologized, “I’ll see you later.” He gave Kuroko a quick peck on the cheek and ran off before either Kasamatsu or I could say anything else.

“Aomine-kun hates horse-riding.” Kuroko spoke, unable to meet our eyes, “It wasn't always like that, eight years ago something happened and he…” His voice trailed off, and Kuroko bit his lip, “He just closed down. But that’s a topic for a whole other conversation, and one you should have with Aomine-kun himself. Sorry – let’s go pick out a horse, okay Kise-kun?”

‘ _How can someone win the nationals three years in a row with next to no practice? This guy is seriously some next level shit. Though what’s his problem? He’s wasting his talent – I can’t imagine_ how _good he would be if he actually practiced like a normal person.’_ I couldn't wrap my head around this Aomine person anymore. It wasn't just the fact he was improperly good-looking – this new, unexpected fact really peaked my interest. I was going to have to meet this guy in person.

 

Kuroko got up from the couch, and the look he gave us clearly signified that asking any more questions on the topic of Aomine would be futile. I also got out from my seat, ready to leave, when I noticed Kasamatsu staring absentmindedly at… nothing in particular really.

“You coming?” I asked gingerly.

“Nah, I’ll pass.” He mumbled, “Sorry. Don’t mind me.”

* * *

 

 “Kasamatsu-kun seemed really sad back there,” Kuroko remarked, as the two of us slowly made our way over to the area of grass behind the tracks. I had just finished choosing a horse – it was brilliantly white with a mane that seemed as though it had been dyed in milky tea. Its name was Kumo, and I thought the name suited him perfectly – the manner with which he moved was so light and profound, he seemed to glide along – just as a cloud would. Kumo’s build was that of a typical race horse – tall and slender.

“It’s only to be expected – someone he’s looked up for a long time is turning out to be a whole different person than Ksamatsucchi expected.” I replied, feeling bad for my best friend.

“I understand.” Kuroko came to a stop at the edge of the vast area of meadow, “Now Kumo-kun, this is Kise-kun and he’ll be your master for some time, okay? Be nice, and I hope the two of you work well together.” He spoke kindly, stroking the horse’s mane.

“I look forward to working with you, Kumocchi!” I smiled at the horse, patting him on the head. In response, Kumo slightly lifted his front legs in an alternating motion, as though he was already anticipating the ride.

“Shall we go then, Kise-kun?” Kuroko asked, already sitting on his horse (how did he manage to get up there without me noticing?!), whose name I earlier learnt was Hikari.

“Yea, just give me a moment-” But as I swung my leg to mount the horse, I found I could not get it high enough to be able to pull myself up – it took me four tries and, when I did make it, it was extremely difficult to keep my balance. Kumo seemed to be constantly shifting even though he was standing and I had the impression I was permanently on the edge of falling off of him. This was very weird as I never experienced such problems with Lait.

“Kise-kun, you look unsteady.” Kuroko stated, eyeing me down as I unsuccessfully tried to balance myself on Kumo's back, “Adjust your position or you will fall when Kumo-kun moves.”

“Y-yea, one moment I know I did this countless t-times.” I stuttered back. But just as I spoke I pulled on Kumo’s reins a bit too hard, in a foolish attempt to catch my balance, and he began to walk, causing my torso to violently shift forward.

‘ _Shit – what the hell is this horse broken?’_ I thought to myself as I found that remaining atop Kumo was a thousand times more difficult now that he was moving, even though he did so extremely slow. I pulled its reins back to bring him to a complete stop, but once again I was too forceful and the horse halted too violently – this sudden change in motion was at last enough to send me flying to the ground.

“You’re pulling the reins too strong – there’s need for as much force with a trained race-horse like Kumo.” Kuroko said appearing out of thin air, as Kuroko did, to help me up from my fall from grace.

“Really? Well that’s easier said than done. I don’t know how-” I began to argue, when suddenly realization washed though me, “I don’t know how!! Kurokocchi I don’t know how!” I cried out, positively elated, shaking Kuroko by his shoulders.

“Then what are you so happy about if you don’t know-” Kuroko broke off then smiled his biggest smile yet, as he too realized what this meant.

“But- but this doesn't make sense.” I spoke when the first wave of euphoria had passed, “I mean I still copied your movements perfectly – they just didn't work on Kumo. Maybe he's is faulty or something.” I mused, my happiness turning to confusion.

“Don’t blame Kumo for your incompetence.” Kuroko responded, somewhat offended, as he began to stroke Kumo’s magnificent mane, “We’ll go talk with Midorima-kun. He will know.”

“How would Midorimacchi know something like that?”

“He just does.” Kuroko stated, as if that was the most obvious thing on Earth, “Midorima-kun isn't here at the moment, so for now I could teach you the horseback riding basics again. They might come in handy.” Kuroko smiled faintly.

“Hell yeah!” I cheered, “My first real horse-riding lesson! Now I’m really excited – thank you Kurokocchi~!” I grinned, fist-bumping the air.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are just some translations - just in case any one of y'all lovely AoKise bunnies were wondering what some of the names mean ^^
> 
> Shiroyuri - white lily (this is why the uniform badges are in the shape of a white lily.)
> 
> Kumo - cloud
> 
> Hikari - light 
> 
> I'm also sorry it's taking me so long to update. I've traveled recently to a place pretty darn faraway from where I live and study - so there's been a lot going on. Meeting up with relatives, old childhood friend, that sort of stuff. One is deprived of time to write gay fanfiction in the feverish midst of family and friends.


	3. Best + Bitter = Better

“But it all just doesn’t make sense Midorimacchi!” I whined, watching Midorima as he carefully groomed his horse, Shiro. I had just finished telling him about my fall from grace, and Midorima did not seem at all phased with my unprecedented situation.  Not that I expected him to be.

“Are you blond because you are stupid or stupid because you are blond?” He taunted without as much as a glance in my direction. He seemed incredulously caught up in a quest to perfect the braid on Shiro’s grey tail, “If you would just think logically for once, you too would see that it makes perfect sense – for a Gemini, you lack intellect.” He shot a glance in my direction.

“Midorima-kun, please be more understanding.” Kuroko spoke in that mild voice of his which seemed to melt away some of Midorima’s annoyance, “Kise-kun really needs your help. Not everyone possesses the splendid intuition that Cancer’s like you have been blessed with.”

That last line did the trick and Mirodima finally turned in his seat to face us. The three of us were in the right-wing stables which was where Shiroyuri Stables representatives kept their horses. It too, as everything else at this place, was first-class.

“If you insist, I shall enlighten you.” He smiled smugly, positioning a wooden statue of a bear catching three fish in its mouth, between his legs. “All previous sports that you have tried and claim to have mastered almost immediately-”

“It is not a claim,” I interjected, “It is a simple fact.” As much as I hated the easiness with witch I copied others, I was also damn proud of my abilities – I didn't like them questioned. Midorima raised his eyebrows in defilement at my interruption and looked over at Kuroko. He in turn looked at me knowingly and put one finger to his lips. Kuroko’s way of saying ‘shut the fuck up’.

“As I way saying,” He spoke in that signature business-voice of his, while he worked away at polishing the awkwardly big statue. “In all these previous sports you have allegedly mastered, you have handled only inanimate objects. The key to perfecting the sport was to master the handling of the given object, correct?” He looked up at me, hands still restlessly polishing the bear.

“Correct.” I nodded, “But horse-riding is the same – the key to perfecting it is to master handling your horse.”

“So you aren’t a complete idiot after all.” He smirked, “Yes, you’re right. But this _horse_ isn’t some standardized, mass-produced piece of equipment.” He elaborated, now looking me directly in the face, waiting for me to catch onto something. Whatever he was onto. However I was just massively confused and didn’t see where this monologue was going. I looked over to Kuroko but, unsurprisingly, he wasn't at my side anymore.

“You mean… the movements Kise-kun used didn't work with Kumo… because… they were the same ones he copied… when I rode a different horse – Lait?” Kuroko wondered out loud, suddenly emerging from behind Shiro, stroking his neatly combed mane.

“Key word being _different_ horse.” Midorima pointed out, and as I thought about what Kuroko just said, the pieces were starting to come together, “First off, Lait is a Standardbred adapted to Harness racing, while Kumo a much more slender Arabian – used to fast speeds. So it’s not surprising your movements were too forceful.” He explained, “Basically, I think that these movements you copied, Kise, they will only work on the horse upon which they were initially performed by the person, in this case Kuroko, from whom you copied them. They cannot be used on any other horse but the one for which they were first intended.”

“Y-yes.” I stammered, not hiding my awe at how easily Midorima reached this conclusion that now seemed ridiculously obvious whereas last night, I had stayed up until six am trying, failing epically, to think of some logical explanation. On top of that I was just too happy to form proper sentences – for the first time in a lifetime I had come across a sport I couldn't copy my way out of! A challenge!

‘ _Somewhere beyond all that seaweed, there is a powerful brain.’_  I thought, and then spoke slowly, processing this new, wonderful information. “You’re right Mirodrimacchi – it makes perfect sense that each horse has to be approached individually.” I grinned at him.

 “Mmmyes, of course it does.” He mumbled back, too absorbed with taping his fingers too meet my excited eyes, “But why are you so happy?”

“Because! It’s a challenge! It’s what I've been waiting for!” I chimed, all but jumping up and down from happiness.

“Is this today’s lucky item, Midorima-kun?” Kuroko asked, startling me as usual, pointing to the bear statue that now sat next to Midorima’s stool, “Judging by its size, today isn't a good day for Cancers. Good luck.”

“Thank you for noticing, Kuroko. Yes, Wednesdays tend to bring me bad luck; therefore I have invested in an extra-large lucky item.” He replied dispassionately, fingers still carefully working with the tape, and then added, “Just to be safe.”

“Midorimacchi?” I hesitated, not wanting to offend him, but my curiosity took the better of me, “Why do you always carry these ‘lucky item’ thingies?” the look on Midorima’s face in response to my question confirmed all my worst concerns.

“These _thingies_ ,” He retorted, his green eyes boring into mine like murder, “are the reason I have won the steeplechasing national tournament two years in a row.”

“I-I’m sorry Midorimacchi I didn't mean to offend-” But my apology was violently cut short as Midorima sat up and, never breaking eye contact, put his angered face inches from mine.

“Man proposes, God disposes. I am a man that proposes; I always carry my lucky item of the day with me as my horoscope said.” He hissed venomously, a forceful hand on my shoulder, “That is why my horse never misses an obstacle.”

I swallowed air, too frightened to say anything. Forget Aomine, _this_ guy way some serious next level shit and at this point, with his grip tightening against my shoulder, I was sure to get a punch to the face at any given second. This, with my upcoming photo-shoot, would be problematic.

“Right now, as a man who proposes,” He barked, startling me so I almost jumped, “I propose you leave.”

* * *

 

“Cancer, huh? Oh, he’s not just _any_ Cancer,” Kasamatsu cackled sarcastically after hearing my account of the eventful conversation with seaweed-head, “He’s the Cancer of Mankind.”

The sun was setting lazily as we made our way to the wrecked bus stop.

“God, you’re awful.” I snorted, laughing loudly.

“On a serious note though Kise – what are you going to do now? You can’t copy your way out of this one~” He teased, rising his eyebrows at me just as the bus pulled up by the rusted pole.

“What? I’ll train my ass off that’s what!” I grinned, all teeth, punching him lightly on the shoulder, “Just like I always wanted to.”

“You’re still bent on qualifying for the regionals?”

“Like hell I am!” I beamed, “I’m more fired up than ever. What about you – up for a little competition?” I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Nah, I’d never make it in. I’m just here to enjoy myself, and _hopefully_ get to see Aomine-san when he finally arrives.” He smiled weakly.

* * *

 

“No. Do it again.” Kagami sighed, looking completely resigned.

“ _Bakagami!”_ I shot back, as tired as he was resigned. “If you were a better teacher I’d have learnt how to do it centuries ago.”

“Time sure flies when you’re a stupid idiot who can’t get his horse to switch gaits.” He retorted, “No wonder Tetsu got sick of teaching you.”

“Come _on_ Kagamicchi – just show me instead of rambling on and on about it!” I pleaded, for the thousandth time that afternoon.

“Ha! You wish!”  He laughed, but then gave me and understanding smile when he saw the defeated look on my face. “Listen Kise, you gotta slow down – I know you’re used to knowing everything right away but-”

“But Kumo is just not right for me! He’s too sensitive – one little pull on the reins and he galloping me across the meadow.” I lamented, cutting Kagami off mid-sentence, “We've been at it for nearly two weeks now and it’s all the same.”

“Kumo isn't the problem here, trust me.” Kagami was serious now; I immediately stopped complaining and unconsciously straightened up beside Kumo. “Lemme find a way to explain this…” His voice trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair, “See, you were good with Lait, you know the basic principles of horseback riding. You may have copied them but you _memorized_ them and are capable of performing them.”

“Technically, yes.” I nodded, folding my arms across my chest.

“So now all you gotta do is take that knowledge that is in there _somewhere,”_ He spoke, tapping a finger to my forehead, “and apply it, appropriately modified, to Kumo. Yeah, it’s true every horse needs an individual approach, but and the end of the day: every horse is a goddamn horse.”

 

This blatantly simple advice really helped me. It changed the way I viewed the situation – suddenly I felt as though I already knew half the stuff and the other half could be easily picked up as I gathered experience, as I got to know _Kumo’s_ movements better. Because if I knew how he moved, then I could adjust my own movements to that and the two of us could then achieve every horseback rider’s dream: perfect synchronization. Well, three weeks went by like rapid fire, and though our synchronization was a bit short of perfect, I had made a vast improvement.

“Dude, you’re pretty amazing after all.” Kagami grinned, his arm around Kuroko’s shoulders in the usual, protective mother-hen manner as I swiftly got off of Kumo’s back.

“Congratulations on qualifying into the regionals, Kise-kun.” Kuroko smiled warmly.

“Thanks Kurokocchi! Same to you, though regionals are probably nothing for you.” I replied, grinning from ear to ear, “Well, now I need to practice twice as much I usually do – I mean I just barely made it, so I have to make the most of this opportunity.”

Just as we stood on the tracks, I caught sight of one of the stable’s staff walking towards up, holding a magnificent black Thoroughbred by its reins. My eyes widened with both awe as the horse’s beauty, and confusion because during my stay here I have noticed one important thing: all horses at Shiroyuri Stables were light coloured. Most were white as snow – it was a sort of trademark of the stables. But the one being escorted towards us now was a deep, inky black without as much as a spot a shade lighter.

“Oh great.” Kagami murmured, his face contorting into a scowl.

“Looks like Aomine-kun is finally here.” Kuroko said, remaining his usual relaxed, calm self unlike Kagami whose face looked like he has just smelled something horrid.

“You say that as though it’s a good thing.” He grunted, visibly displeased, just as the staff member, along with the horse, came to a stop beside our small group.

“Sorry guys,” The staff member, a short boy with brown hair, spoke, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “He didn’t reserve the tracks but… well it’ll just be easier for all of you if you leave Aomine-san be. I’m really sorry.” He could barely meet our eyes as the spoke.

“You don’t have to tell me twice Sakurai – I’m outta here.” Kagami answered, already beginning to walk away, pulling lightly on Kuroko’s arm, “Please Tetsu, don’t tell me you want to talk with that guy.”

“You say that as though it’s a _bad_ thing.” Kuroko replied, a small smirk emerging for the tiniest second.

“Wait guys.” I interjected, confused yet again, “Why do we have to leave? So Aomine is here, how is that a problem-” My voice caught in my throat as the dark-skinned boy came into my field of vision.

‘ _God damn. He looks even better than in the photographs.’_ I almost blurted out, my mouth opening slightly (how ungraceful). ‘ _Is it just me, or is he getting even hotter the nearer he is?”_  I thought shamelessly as Aomine’s muscular form came closer and closer across the meadow. He was definitely taller than me, and though he looked absolutely ravishing in a pair of splendidly tight black breeches and a dark blue button-down, his appearance on the whole was unprofessional. Old sneakers instead of riding roots, and no sight of a helmet – he looked more like a stableman, a sexy one though, than a pro racer. Even so I struggled to remain composure, all but squealing at his messy hair and muscular arms. Oh god the arms.

“What’re you staring at, blondie?” He barked at me, losing a bit of charm due to the rude edge in his deep voice.

 _‘Lord, you have done a fine job. Even his voice.’_ I just couldn't help being attacked to his guy. Despite the fact he was presently eyeing me down with a look that questioned my mental stability.

“S-Sorry it’s just that-” I began to explain but was plainly cut off by Aomine’s hand, which came so close to my face it almost slapped me. From the look on his face, he probably couldn't care less if it did.  

“Whatever.” He retorted, turning to look at Sakurai. “Just leave it here – I’m not handicapped yet I could have brought it here myself.”

“I’m truly sorry Aomine-san.” Sakurai stammered, struggling to meet Aomine’s eyes, “Your father said that-”

“I fucking dare you to ask me if I give a shit about what _he_ says.” Aomine hissed though gritted teeth. Sakurai gulped and, without another word, he hurriedly made his way back towards the main building. Aomine watched him leave for a while, and then turned his attention to the horse, lazily beginning to adjust its harness.  As good-looking as he was, I hated to admit Aomine was every bit as rude and unpleasant as Midorima warned us he’d be.

“You always this nice, or is today a special occasion?” Kagami called out to Aomine.                                                            

“Well fuck me sideways and call me Sally.” Aomine mocked, raising his eyebrows at Kagami mockingly, “I humbly apologize. I’ll send him a fruits basket.” He snorted sarcastically.

“Aomine-kun, it’s nice to see you.” Kuroko spoke, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere. All I could do was stare, thoroughly perplexed by Aomine’s outright rudeness. To say the least, this wasn’t at all how he was presented by the media.

“I’d say the same, but I’d have to lie.” Aomine replied, still rudely but less so than towards Kagami: looks like even he didn't have the heart to yell at Kuroko.

“Tetsu, we’re leaving.” Kagami wrapped his arm around Kuroko’s shoulder and began to guide his away, “Come Kise, leave that jackass be.” He added.                                                                                                                              

“But I still need to practice.” I called to him, unsure of whether I was making the right decision, “I really need as much practice as possible before the regionals.”

“Suit yourself.” He waved his arm without turning around.

“You’re new here.” Aomine stated his voice calmer.

“Y-yes.” I replied, unable to meet his eyes for fear of blushing. He may be a rude prick but, hey, that doesn't make him any less good-looking. “I’m Kise Ryouta – we’ll both be competing in the regionals soon.”

“And I’m not interested.” He retorted, “Look here, pretty boy, make this easier on me and leave me the fuck alone.”

“Ok I tired being nice.” I barked back, my patience running out, “I don’t know what your problem is but it ain’t _my_ problem. I have every right to practice here whenever I so desire.”

For a long time Aomine just stared at me, and I couldn’t help but to stare back into his gorgeous (fairly irritated) face.

“Fine. Talk about fucking stubborn I don’t like people like you.” He mumbled, more to himself than me, as he began to mount his horse. I guess it wasn't exactly love at first sight.

On that lovely note, our conversation ended. We rode our horses far away from each other, and I continually sneaked glances at Aomine. He wasn’t even aware that he was unintentionally providing me with a lot of information – just from observing I could now take his movements and twist them into mine. I smirked at the thought.

His riding was just as amazing as his appearance was untidy – his horse and he were truly in perfect synchronization. I couldn’t decide what to look at: the astounding way he gathered more and yet more speed in a seemingly effortless manner, or how damn good he looked while doing it.  Prick or not, I was attracted to him. I didn’t need him to like me to be able to stare at him. For now.


	4. He is Running On Spite and Fury

In this whole situation one thing saddened me the most: how no one even bothered to speak to Aomine anymore. I couldn’t say I blamed them, but I just couldn’t stand by and watch a person get so bluntly rejected by everyone. Kuroko had very much so wanted to talk with Aomine, I think the two of them have known each other for very long, but after a couple harsh arguments with him, Kagami forbid Kuroko to even go near Aomine. It was a pretty funny sight: Kagami looked more like a worried mum than a boyfriend, kneeling before Kuroko and holding him by the shoulders like a child, as he almost ordered him never to talk to Aomine again. Yeah, he was most definitely the rudest, most obnoxious, self-centered, inconsiderate… where was I going with this?

Right, so my point was that I found myself unable to simply give up on Aomine. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by Kasamatu’s reaction when I told him all this. Having seen him more devastated than ever after his first encounter with Aomine (at which I wasn’t present – perhaps for the better) I was positive he was too disappointed to even try getting to know him better.

“You know what dude? You’re actually right.” He replied, smiling at me then turning to look out the window again. We were both watching as Aomine reluctantly went about his training outside by the tracks. Ever since his arrival, Aomine seemed to literally always be around the stables. “I can’t just give up on my idol either.” My best friend managed a weak smile.

“There must be a reason why he’s like that. I mean no one’s _born_ an asshole.” I continued, happy to have my best friend on my side. “Maybe if we manage to find out what it is, we can get along with him. It’d make coming here every day a whole lot easier.” I added.

Aomine was currently galloping like lightning around the perimeter of the tracks, and I found myself getting more annoyed with him by the moment. It wasn’t just his impudence, no. It was because he was just so damn good at horse-riding – too good for someone who barely ever practices, and puts in next to no effort when they do. 

“You could always rent a room upstairs.” Kuroko spoke, suddenly right behind me. "It would also make coming here every day easier."

“Shit! Do you always have to do that?” Kasamatsu and I yelped simultaneously. Every time I began to think I was getting used to Kuroko’s unnaturally low presence, he’d pull something like this – I guess some things we can never adapt to.

“What do you mean?” Kuroko sounded genuinely confused, “I had been standing here the entire time.”

“That’s Kurokocchi for you!” I joked, giving him a friendly pat on the head. “But, what did you mean earlier? About renting a room?”

“This building’s two upper levels contain suites.” Kuroko explained, pointing a finger upwards. “I hear the rooms are nice. Aomine-kun stays in one whenever he comes and even he doesn’t complain.” Kuroko stated.

 That was enough of an argument for me. “Awesome, I’ll do that then.” I told my friends, “It’ll save me plenty time _and_ I can practice later into the evening!”

“Shouldn’t you ask your parents before deciding?” Kuroko asked his expression thoughtful.

“Oh, my dad won’t mind, I’m sure of that.” I beamed at him, “He’s cool with pretty much everything I do.” My dad was really the most accepting and optimistic person I knew.

 Just as the words left my mouth, my phone rang: I reached into for it into my pocket and checked the caller ID. “Speak of the devil – Hi dad!” I laughed into the phone.

“Ryo-chan~ thank God you answered~!” My dad chimed through the phone.

“What’s up?” I asked, holding back yet more laughs. My dad had been calling me ‘Ryo-chan’ for as long as I could remember, yet I still laughed uncontrollably every time he said it. Perhaps it was due to the fact he was the CEO of one of Japan’s biggest electronic manufacturing company, but had the mentality of a lost puppy. I was more capable of taking care of him, than the other way around.

“Ryo-chan, help me please~” He lamented, and I could just picture him flailing his arms around, “I don’t know what to wear to the meeting.” I looked over to the large clock opposite where I stood. It was two fifty.

“Dad, the meeting starts in ten minutes and you’re still at _home?!”_ I questioned him, Kasamatsu erupting into a fit of giggles beside me. Though to be honest, I wasn’t even surprised anymore: this was completely within his character.

“Oh no worries, they can’t start without me.” He brushed me off casually, “I have the keys to the conference room.”

“You WHAT?” I demanded, absolutely stunned.

“Yeah they’re here…somewhere.” I could hear him fumbling through the drawers. “I swear I just… saw them.” I let out a deep sigh, meeting Kasamtsu’s eyes which caused him to double over from laughter.

Kuroko was- Oh. Kuroko was gone. ‘ _Probably off to see Kagami.’_ I smiled to myself.

“Dad?” I sighed, giving up all hope if him ever acting like an adult. At least around me.

“Yes Ryo-chan~?” I answered, now sounding embarrassed.

“I prepared you a suit – it’s in _your_ closet on the right hand side.” I explained, feeling like a mother, “The one with the blue shirt. Do you see it?”

“Yesh~!” He chirped loudly, “Oh what would I do without my little Ryo-chan~?” He giggled, and then hanged up before I could say another word.

‘ _I ask myself that every day.”_ I laughed softly to myself, shaking my head before speaking to Kasamatsu, who had to sit down because his stomach hurt from laughing too hard.

“So, Kasamatsucchi, let’s go rent me a room.” I smiled at him, extending a hand to help him up from the plush sofa.

****

“Good afternoon Aominecchi!” I chimed, my voice overflowing with sarcasm.

“Go die, blondie.” He shot back, without as much as a glance in my direction as he halfheartedly adjusted the saddle on his black horse.

This greeting was now something of a ritual: our conversation, if you can call calling out insults at regular intervals conversation, always went more or less the same way. But today, I was really bent on steering it in a different direction – my curiosity as to why Aomine hates horseback riding so much was getting the better of me these days.

“Aominecchi~?” I called out to him as I mounted Kumo in one shift motion. He actually looked at me this time – that was good progress.  “Tell me, what is it’s name?” I pointed to Aomine’s horse.

“This?” He questioned, also pointing to the horse, his voice mocking. “Well you really live up to that hair colour – this animal, is generally referred to as _horse.”_ He sneered at me, and then began to ride off in the opposite direction, throwing his head back laughing.

 I couldn’t help but think to myself; ‘ _He has a really nice laugh_ – _even if it sounds slightly evil_.’ before scolding myself, ‘ _You should be angry at him he’s a complete asshole.’_

Aomine was still, thankfully, riding quite slowly and so I made my way over to where he was – on the edge of the tracks. I had to hurry if there was to be any conversation whatsoever – I doubt I could catch up to him if he broke into gallop.

“Come on, it won’t hurt you to tell me.” I insisted, as our horses walked together side by side. His eyes bore into mine with the intension to kill, and for a second my voice caught in my throat.

“It will hurt _you_ if you don’t shut up, you fuckwit.” He barked at me, and then raised his eyebrows as though daring me to speak another word. And I never turn down a challenge.

His hair was messy in that weird sexy way – I focused on it instead as I continued. “Why don’t you ever call him by his name?” I demanded

“Why the fuck do you even care?!” He shot back, pulling harder on his reins – the black horse went into a quick trot.

“Why the fuck not?” I yelled after him, also switching into a trot – even with this relatively slow gait, I was begging to struggle to keep up. Aomine was constantly a step ahead.

“Whatever.” He retorted, speeding up even more. “It’s none of your business so just go the fuck away.”

“It’s because you hate horse-riding right?” I asked my voice angrier now. There was something about this guy’s attitude that just boiled my blood. “You hate all this so much you can’t even call the horse by his name. I’m right aren’t I?”

The second these words left my mouth, Aomine stopped in his tracks. He violently turned his horse around to face me – he looked more furious than I had ever seen him (it’s important to highlight that during the past week where I had been spending a lot of time in his presence, I have seen him angry quite often). He swung himself off of the horse and started towards me with quick, angry strides. I sat atop Kumo, too paralyzed to move.

“Get off you fucker.” He barked, gesticulating violently, before he all but dragged me right off my horse. “Off! You and I need to have a word face to fucking face.”

“Why are you always like this?” I snapped at him, regaining my composure after this ungraceful moment. “It’s not surprising everyone else turned away from you.”

“Yeah? Well why won’t you just join them then?” He hollered, his angry face inches from mine. His answer caused all my fury to suddenly evaporate. I relaxed my muscles, and stepped back a bit.

“You can’t possibly mean that.” I muttered my voice just loud enough for him to hear.  Aomine opened his mouth like he wanted to speak, but then closed it again.

“What the fuck is your problem, blondie?” He mumbled, looking everywhere else but at me.

“What it _yours?!_ ” I retorted, making a step towards him. “I just want to get to know you but you’re making it _extremely_ difficult." He gave me a quick glance, and then turned his back to me.

“Friendship isn’t my thing.” He spoke, walking back towards his horse. Seriously: I should be sick and tired of this guy. Or rather, I was sick and tired of him, yet I still wanted to spend time with him.

“Race me.” I blurted out without thinking. I was the first thing that came to my mind – I spoke without really grasping the meaning of the words. For some reason I just couldn’t let the conversation end like that. Aomine’s laughter echoed just as their meaning sunk in.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He cackled, but he had turned around. He was looking right at me, a sly grin spread across that marvelous face.

“If I beat you,” What the hell am I saying? I can’t beat a pro racer. “You’ll acknowledge me as an equal.” I struggled to keep my voice level, and the fact that Aomine was still laughing did not help one bit.

“The only one who can beat me,” He called out proudly, his eyes piercing mine, “is me. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Kise.”

Ok so I know we’re in the middle of a tough moment but… he called me by my name for the first time _ever!_ If that’s not progress then I don’t know what is.

“Prove it.” I challenged.

“Whatever then, if it’ll make you shut up.” He answered, already walking back to his horse in long, purposeful strides. “Just don’t cry afterwards.”

 


	5. Note to Self: Don't Do It You Son of A

Aomine galloped past me like lightning right off the starting block – I barely had the chance to hear Kuroko give the signal and he was already at full speed. We were to race one time around the entire track, 400 meters. I bent down low, Kumo’s mane brushed my cheeks gently, and pulled on his reins to gather more speed. But the gap between him and me only widened. As I watched, he constantly gained more and yet more speed, even now as he turned the first corner he seemed to accelerate – was it even possible to accelerate while turning corners? His movements were so fluent, so effortless. Literally. It was obvious that not a lot of effort was being put forth from his side.

 _‘Midorimacchi was right – what the hell is that_ slouch? _How is he going this_ fast _when his form is so messy?’_

 Despite his god-awful form; I dearly hoped he was trying at least a little because if that is what Aomine raced like when he doesn’t give a damn then I would start developing doubts as to his humanity. Hoping against hope I bent down further as I reached the first turn and, praying for Kumo to go faster yet, I nudged his sides with my boots a little too fiercely. Instead of speeding up, Kumo halted violently, causing me to almost topple right off of him.

 _‘Don’t do this to me.’_ I thought as I feverishly pulled at his reins, but this time I was too gentle and Kumo would only trot. I slightly raised my head to seek out Aomine, and was amazed to find he was almost to the finish line while I had barely made it halfway across the tracks.

‘ _How is he even real?’_ I mused, baffled, as I finally got Kumo to start galloping again. I neared Aomine enough to be able to make out his face, and the instant I laid eyes on his bored, don’t-give-a-shit profile, something snapped inside me. Before I knew it I yanked at Kumo’s reins with force that should have caused him to raise his hind legs and throw me off, but instead he galloped ahead, faster than ever before. I began closing the gap between Aomine and me, but it was much too late –  I barely got over the second turn when Aomine crossed the finish line in a detestably slow, and arrogant manner – he couldn’t even bother to continue galloping once he knew victory was assured. Annoyance welled up in me as I dashed across the tracks, faster than I thought possible and yet not fast enough. Not even close.

 _‘I don’t know whether I am more annoyed or amazed by this guy.’_ I smiled to myself in disbelief as I neared Kuroko and Aomine, who had already took off his helmet and was gathering his things to leave. We locked eyes for a moment, and he broke out in a fit of slightly evil laughter.

“What the fuck was that?” He cackled, before his face gained a more serious, an almost sad, expression, “I told you – the only one who can beat me is me.”

“Oh shut up you spray-tanned blueberry!” The words left my mouth in an undignified yelp before I could compute their meaning. Guess these things just happen when you’re overly determined to think of a witty comeback, but too pissed off to think straight.

 “It’s okay Kise-kun.” Kuroko spoke trying to contain his laughter, miraculously appearing right beside me, “You’ve made good improvement and I think that, soon enough, you won’t be reliant on your copying abilities anymore.”

“T-thanks Kurokocchi.” I sighed, my head bowed from embarrassment. I knew I would lose, yes, but there is a difference between losing and being crushingly destructed.

“So he is the copy-cat you’ve told me about?” Aomine smirked, giving me a knowing look. “Ya know, you can’t just copy someone else’s movements in horse riding. You actually need some real skill.” He laughed, beginning to guide his still nameless horse away.

“Says the guy who can’t even bother to practice when he’s not _forced_ to.” I called after him, irritation welling up inside me yet again.

_‘He’s going to lecture me?’_

“For fuck’s sake!” Aomine wheeled around to face me, “There you go again with that bullshit – it’s none of your business!” He fumed at me, his dark eyes piercing mine like daggers.

“I refuse to accept the fact that you’re wasting your natural talent.” I responded, trying a calmer approach. “Others train years and aren’t half as good as you are.”

“Ask me if I give a shit.” He shot back,  picking up his backpack and flinging it over his shoulder nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes at him – this was his usual answer to pretty much everything.

“Would you stop with that shitty attitude?” I barked, flinging my attempt at a calm approach out the window. “You’re the most arrogant and ungrateful person I’ve ever met.”

“You’re the arrogant one here, blondie.” Aomine replied, his voice was menacing but his eyes contained another emotion I couldn’t quite make out.

 _‘Is he… sad?’_ The thought popped into my head seemingly involuntarily, and as much as I wanted to I couldn’t discard it completely.

“Excuse me?” I cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Horse riding is the first hardship you’ve encountered and you’re acting like a little bitch about it.” He stated, arms folded, looking right at me. That was just too much for me. The anger I had been bottling up inside seemed to boil in me.

“You know _nothing_ of the hardships I had to face in life!” I hollered at him, suppressing the urge to punch that gorgeous face of his, eyes stinging with the threat of tears. This sudden outburst seemed to have surprised Aomine, because for the first time ever, he said nothing.

I wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of seeing me in this state, and so I stormed off into the main building, leaving a perplexed Aomine and Kuroko behind.

****

 

“Ready to leave?” Kasamatsu called out to me from outside the locker room, the impatience clear in his voice, “I’ve been waiting here for fifteen minutes – what’s the holdup?”

“Y-yea… just give me a second.” I replied sheepishly, “I’m just looking for my phone… ugh where did I put it?” I mumbled, more so to myself than Kasamatsu, as I began to rummage through the messy locker.

Ever since that argument with Aomine a few hours ago I couldn’t focus on anything else – my mind kept drifting back and forth between his last words to me, and that weird almost-sadness in his eyes. I wanted to be angry, just angry. I wanted to take his ‘advice’ and leave him be.

 _‘I’m frustrated, but I’m not angry’_ I admitted before myself, ‘ _and somehow I know I-’_

“You just can’t let it go, can’t you?” Kasamatsu began, cutting off my train of thought. He had walked back inside and was standing next to my locker. “Ever since your argument you’ve only been halfway here,” He motioned to our surroundings, “and you really shouldn’t let what he said get to you so much – he doesn’t know about the accident and if he did-”

Here Kasamatsu paused, his brows furrowing before he quickly blurted out “Ok nevermind he’d probably still say it but you get my point nonetheless.”

“Thanks Yukiocchi,” I gave my best friend a faint smile, but I couldn’t keep it up for longer than three seconds, “but it’s not just that – he had this… this  _sadness_ in his eyes that I just can’t shake off.”

My revelation caught Kasamatsu off guard, as the crease between his eyebrows deepened, and one side of his mouth lifted in an ‘what on Earth are you on about?’-kind of expression in response to which I couldn’t help laughing a little.

“I’m serious!” I retorted, surprised at my defensive tone.

“No I believe you Kise, it’s just difficult to imagine Aomine… sad.” He pointed out, “Anyway, that just means you need to keep trying and eventually you’ll figure out the mystery that is Aho-mine.” Kasamatsu winked at me.

“Good one man!” I snickered, smiling genuinely for the first time that afternoon.

“So did you find that phone yet?” He asked, leaning against the wall of my locker and peering into its chaotic interior.

“No, but it’s got to be somewhere-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, “He interjected, “ You sound like your dad.I’m going to wait at the reception desk, alright?”

I nodded yes, and all but put myself inside the locker to resume my search, when I heard Kasamastu speak again in an amused voice.

“Watch your step Kise, you might fall and break your heart.”

“Just go and wait for me, idiot.” I countered a little too defensively, and I could feel an uninvited blush creeping into my cheeks. As I combed the mangled heap of clothes and bags in search of my phone, I let my mind wonder once again back to Aomine.

“His name is Raiu.” If it wasn’t for the proximity, and clarity of his voice I’d have been sure I had just imagined it. But when I lifted my gaze, there was Aomine – leaning against the doorframe, hands in pockets, his charmingly messy hair and perfectly sculpted jawline demanding to be admired.

To say I was surprised to see him would be like saying you’re surprised you won the lottery.

“I- Sorry?” I stammered trying, and obviously failing, to regain my composure.

 “My horse – his name is Raiu,” He hesitated, raising an arm to scratch the back of his neck, his dark eyes unable to meet mine, “Listen…I- I’m not really used to this but… about earlier… I might have said too much.”

A good few seconds passed in silence before my dazed mind found the words it was looking for.

“Are you _apologizing?”_ I questioned, full of disbelief.

His gaze still fixed on the floor, he gave a curt nod, and bit his bottom lip in an embarrassed yet somehow still incredibly sexy manner that made me just want to walk over to him and-

I remembered Kasamatsu’s parting words and stopped myself – Aomine was about the last person I should want to do _that_ to. As much as I wanted to help him out as a person, I shouldn’t develop any unnecessary feelings.

“Thank you Aominecchi, I appreciate that.” I managed to say, the first waves of shock having passed. Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked me right in the eye, his deep stare full of some new energy.

“We’ll settle things once and for all at the tournament – if you pass onto Nationals, I’ll tell you everything.” His voice was tinged with a kind of determination I had never seen in him, and his eyes bore into mine as he spoke, “So don’t disappoint me, rival.”

And with that, he was out the door in one swift motion before I had the chance to give any kind of response. Not that I was in the state to think of one.


	6. A Tale of Two Raging Morons

Monday morning found me tired and unnaturally anxious about my routine journey to Shiroyuri Stables.  Since the photo-book I’d done in collaboration with Toshio Onda to commemorate three years in the modelling industry was premiering next week, the weekend went by in a blur of promotional interviews and appearances.

 Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely thrilled to be releasing my first photo-book, and to have been able work with such an amazing photographer, and I really shouldn’t be throwing any ‘buts’ in here…

But.

I felt like something bigger than that premier was happening in my life.

Something that I could no longer deny before myself, now that the whirlwind of work had released me. Now that I was sitting alone on the bus looking at the countryside skidding by without really seeing it. Now that my mind was free to wander as it pleased. And, now that it was fervently springing back, time and time again, to last Friday’s events.  

_“So don’t disappoint me, rival.”_

Aomine acknowledged me as his rival! And not only that – he also promised he’d explain everything out of his own _free will_ if I qualify for the Nationals. It was safe to say that my efforts to get through to him had been surprisingly successful, and once again I shouldn’t be saying ‘but’…

But.

When he called me his rival, more than accomplishment I felt my chest fill up with this biting tension that could only be described as one thing –  _longing._  

A stupidly idiotic _longing_ to be more than rivals with Aomine. I hopelessly craved more than rivalry and friendship, and I could no longer hide that before myself as the smallest thought of being more than friends with Aomine sent my heart into override and made me blush like a lovestruck maiden.

_“Watch your step Kise, you might fall and break your heart.”_

Kasamatsu’s warming echoed through my mind.

It’s not like I was in love... not yet.

However, I was falling.

 Somewhere along the line I had already made that jump and I was falling, eyes too afraid to open for fear of discovering that no one was waiting to catch me at the bottom.

I didn’t even know how to feel about it – you couldn’t say I was sad, yet I wasn’t exactly _happy_ either. More than anything I was frustrated with myself because, objectively speaking, Aomine was an asshole and as much as I wanted to I couldn’t picture him in a relationship with anyone – let alone me. Hell, I couldn’t even picture him holding a civil conversation!  

But – there was that word again – somehow, I couldn’t help myself. There was just something almost _hypnotic_ about him – and it wasn’t just his ridiculously good-looking face. And muscular arms. And wondrously messy hair.  

Where was I going with this?

 _‘Wait a second, wait a second… where am I right now?’_ I pulled myself out of my thought-bubble, and started scanning the scenery ahead of me for any clues as to how far I was from the stables. I realized I hadn’t been paying any attention to where the bus was heading and, for all I knew, I could have passed my stop decades ago.  Thankfully, just as I was begging to feel pretty dumb, the disastrously rusted pole came into my field of vision and all was right in the universe. Well, for now.

 _‘Ok,’_ I thought to myself as I made my way towards the stables at a ridiculously slow pace, _‘you have about five minutes to swallow that anxious lump in your throat and repress your feelings like a proper adult.’_

 

******

“Kurokocchi just _show me how_ to do this,” I pleased with him, for the thousandth time this afternoon, “It’s no use – no matter how I try I can’t get him to switch those stupid gaits when I want to!”

“Not going to show you.” Kuroko replied plainly, not even looking up from stroking Kumo’s fair mane, “you really need to be patient and keep practicing – I think you’re doing pretty amazing as it is. You just need more practice, that’s it.” Kuroko flashed me one of his gentle smiles and I instantly felt calmer. He just had that effect on people – you couldn’t help but relax around him.

And then I remembered Aomine’s promise, and ‘calm’ was catapulted out the proverbial window.

“I don’t have the time to be patient!” I countered and I dismounted Kumo, sounding a bit more desperate than I wanted to. My reply caused Kuroko to let out a delicate giggle. He was about to speak when Kagami’s booming voice echoed from across the tracks;

“Oi Kise, heard you got your ass whooped last Friday!” He grinned, visibly amused.

“Hello Kagamicchi,” I called back trying to hide my embarrassment, but I couldn’t even bring myself to meet his eyes, “that _might_ be the case, b-but I’m-”

“Might?” Kagami interjected, a mocking smirk plastered to his face, “Kasamatsu told me you barely made it halfway across the tracks when that tan-whore was already at the finish line.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again and looked to Kuroko for moral support.

“Even though it’s true, you shouldn’t criticize Kise-kun so openly” Kuroko appealed. I couldn’t tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.

“What kind of support is that supposed to be?!” I exclaimed. I was, however, completely ignored as Kagami had finally come within hugging-range of his boyfriend. Consequently, I had to wait about ten years until, in typical mother-hen fashion,he had checked off all the points on the ‘Tetsu Happiness Scale’. We’d be here until tomorrow if I had to recount their entire exchange, so here’s just a snippet;

_“Did you get plenty of sleep? The other day you said you had trouble sleeping?”_

_“That was three weeks ago, Kagami-kun.”_

_“Ah, yes… Are you feeling good though? Is the sun not too much?”_

_“The tracks have roofing-”_

_“You still have to walk there and back!”_

_“Are you stupid?”_

_“That’s completely beside the point! How are your students treating you? Are they nice? If anyone’s casing you trouble, tell me – I’ll kill them.”_

You get the idea.

Ok, let’s get back to business!

“Anyway Kise,” A sly grin was slowly appearing on his mouth, his good arm protectively wrapped around Kuroko’s shoulders, “Kasamatsu also told me the Dark Lord graced you with his presence later that day… _and_ that you wouldn’t tell him what he said – what’s that about?” Kagami cocked an eyebrow at me.

“Y-yea well,” Just with that one mention of Aomine, I was full on back to lovestruck-maiden-mode – it was as though a thousand butterflies came to life within in stomach all at once.

“Well?” Kuroko prodded, as oblivious as ever to my evident unease.

 _‘Well I seriously need to get a grip.’_ I mentally scolded myself as I felt an unsolicited blush spreading across my cheeks for the nth time. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply before continuing.

“I-it’s nothing really,” My right hand instinctively traveled to the back of my neck as I spoke, “He came in b-because… I guess he felt bad and… he apologized. You know since we had an argument and everything. That’s all.” I mumbled all in one breath, looking anywhere but at the two of them.

“HUH?” Kuroko and Kagami cried out in unison, looking first at each other, then at me. Between their wide eyes and half opened mouths, they were positively hilarious in their shock. Surprisingly enough, Kagami was the first one to speak.

“Aomine Daiki _apologized_ to _you.”_ His voice came out an octave higher than normal.

I just nodded yes in response – I would have just lost it if I opened my mouth, I could feel the urge to laugh bubbling up in the back of my throat.  

“ _Aomine Daiki_ apologized to you.” Kagami repeated full of disbelief, this time managing to sound like his usual self, “Did the bleach erode your brain or something?’

“You’re repeating yourself.” Kuroko pointed out, putting a hand on Kagami’s forearm (too short to reach his shoulder).

 “Kise-kun,” Kuroko was now shifting his head in all directions, as though looking for something, “Where are the hidden cameras?”

“What the hell?!” I yelled back, completely thrown off guard by that stupid comment, “He really apologized! He even said he’d explain why he hates horse riding so much if I make it to the Nationals!”

There was a soft _thud_ as Kuroko suddenly sat himself down on the ground, “Kagami, call the police – Aoime-kun has been replaced with a clone!” Kuroko demanded, hilariously serious.

A few seconds of silence passed as Kagami and I stared at Kuroko and, just as I thought those two raging morons had regained their sanity, Kagami reached for his pocket, got out his phone, and started dialing a number.

 _‘He’s actually going to do it!’_ I panicked – just then I realized I was still hanging onto my riding helmet and, without a second thought, flung it straight at Kagami.

“THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, BAKAGAMI?” I hollered, just as the helmet hit him square in the face.

 

******

“I still think it was unnecessary for you to attack me like that!” Kagami groaned, but I could tell he was more embarrassed than angry.

 He was holding onto makeshift ice-pack that Kuroko has just handed to him. The three of us were now sat in the delightfully squishy couches in the main building’s extravagant lobby.

“Aha sure," I dismissed him, “Can we get back to the issue at hand – Regionals are a mere five weeks away and I need to score _at least_ third place to qualify for Nationals.”

“Let me get that for you,” Kuroko said, grabbing onto Kagami’s ice-pack and giving him an adorable kiss on the cheek before turning to me, “I can see you’re very determined Kise-kun – in that case, there’s only one solution. I’ll talk to Riko-san about training you. With your talent, you’ll have a fair chance.” He concluded.

“What- are you trying to get him killed?” Kagami demanded, before I could get a word in.

“No – okay Riko-san’s training maybe a bit… intense,” Kuroko defended himself, “But if Kise-kun perseveres, then I don’t see why he wouldn’t qualify.”

“It’s settled then!” I exclaimed, excitement bubbling within me, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it to Nationals! And, I mean, how scary can this Riko be anyway?”

Kagami raised both his eyebrows at me, and mouthed ‘very’.

 

 

 


	7. He's Like Modern Art (I Don't Understand Modern Art)

The next few days passed at an agonizingly slow pace. It turned out that Riko-san was currently on a family vacation, and the earliest I could expect to see her would be the coming weekend – thankfully, as today was Friday, that wasn’t too long into the future. Then again, I wasn’t even sure if the training would come to fruition, as apparently Kuroko’s conversation with Riko-san went a little something like this;

 

_“Hello, Riko-san? How is your vacation going?”_

_“Kuroko! Thank you, it was going just perfectly well… and then you called.”_

_“Sorry to intrude, I just wanted to ask if you-”_

_“If this has anything to do with work then I suggest you hang up if you value your life.”_

 

So, being the nonconfrontational oasis of peace that he is, Kuroko hang up. Honestly though, I don’t blame him – even the idiotically brave Kagami was scared of her. Despite these obvious warning signs, I was still looking forward to meeting Riko-san and her ‘extreme temper’, as Kuroko called it. For the past few days I had been training my ass off, but there was only so much that I could do, even with Kagami and Kuroko’s help, and I was beginning to feel like I had reached a wall.

 In flat racing, speed is everything. I had speed, or so I thought – until I saw the way Aomine could make Raiu gallop. I knew instinctively that Kumo had the potential to gallop equally as fast, yet in all my weeks of training, and even with my greatest efforts I never attained the speed that Aomine did so offhandedly.

 _‘Sure there’s an obvious difference between our experience levels,”_ I mused as I slowly made my way into where Kumo’s box was inside the stables, _“and then there’s natural talent… but I cannot help but think I’m missing something.”_

Therefore, I decided to seek out and consult the one person whom I thought to have an answer to any and every horse riding related question – Midorima Shintarou.

******

“Lack of focus – that is the wall you need to overcome.” Midorima declared dispassionately, “A typically Gemini characteristic, so it shouldn’t surprise you too much.”

“Could you somehow elaborate on that?” I asked, feeling a bit disheartened to have received such a plain reply after I poured my heart out to him about feeling like I was up against some impenetrable wall.

We were currently in the right-wing stables, and watched as Midorima meticulously worked at polishing his saddle while we both sat on uncomfortably small, wooden stools.

“If you insist.” He sighed before continuing, “Your horoscope’s nature means that your spiritual energy is prone to scattering, hence you find it difficult to dedicate yourself to a single task for a prolonged time-period. So it is only logical for you to be struggling with horse riding – a sport in which conscientiousness and regular training is paramount.”

“But I _am_ training regularly and-” I began to protest, but was swiftly cut off my Midorima.

“In horse riding, training is measured in _months_ , not hours or weeks. Don’t get ahead of yourself,” He warned, “Practice your form until it becomes an inherent part of your being, and synchronize with your horse like your life depends on it – that is the only advice I can offer you.” He concluded, finally looking up at me from his now-glistening saddle.

“I understand, thank you Midorimacchi,” I responded, feeling somewhat more satisfied with this answer. I could tell Midorima was busy, so I  was about to head out, when another thought popped into my head, “But what about Aominecchi; you once said his form was awful, so how come he is this good?”

“You have to learn the rules first, before you can break them effectively.”

His responses surprised me at first- I sort of expected him to make a snide comment about how it's all down to Aomine's horoscope like he usually did. But as I thought about his words, they made a lot of sense.

 _'Perhaps even MIdorimacchi doesn't completely hate Aominecchi.'_ I smiled to myself before speaking.

“Yeah,” I smiled at him, genuinely grateful for his advice, “You’re right. Are you going to train later then?”

“Today is Friday the thirteenth,” he stated, as though that was the most obvious and reasonable reply to my question in the world, “I am not taking any chances.”

“Yea… ‘course” I replied, letting out an awkward laugh. Midorima was smart, I had to give him that, but this personality was just… _difficult_ to handle at times, “Come by later though. I’d really appreciate your _expert opinion_ on my riding form.” I cooed – Midorima perked up at my mention of his expertise, and swiftly agreed to come as soon as he was done with equipment maintenance. Bless his brilliant yet simple mind.

 So, we said our goodbyes and headed in separate directions, and some half an hour later I was guiding a saddled Kumo, my eyes alight with a newly found determination, onto the meadows – a vast plot of grassland that stretched out from behind the tracks all the way to the forest’s dense treeline. I wanted to try training here instead of at the tracks for once. I felt that, in order to work on my form and hone speed, it didn’t make sense to be somewhere enclosed; and as I stepped onto the windswept greenery I knew I’d made the right decision. The crisp wind brushed my cheeks and tousled my hair as though welcoming me to its realm – there was something so refreshing about how chaotic the meadow appeared in comparison to the meticulously ordered tracks just beside it. Something almost _rebellious_ and it made me feel like I could take down any wall that stood before me.

Speaking of which, as soon as I mounted Kumo I caught sight of my favourite rebel galloping at neck breaking speed in his usual helmet-less style.

 _‘How anyone can look this good in a pair of battered sneakers, a crinkled v-neck and breeches is beyond me.’_ I pondered, heart pounding in my chest against my will. I disciplined myself to not think about how wonderfully the wind tousled his hair as he dashed across the meadow, and instead focused on adjusting my form as instructed by Midorima. It was surprisingly difficult – Kumo kept shifting as he stood, but when I finally got it, I could definitely tell the difference. A good two hours passed while I relentlessly tried to tailor my form to best work with Kumo – it was a more taxing endeavor than I had anticipated and I didn’t seem to be making much progress. I therefore decided to take a short break to admire Aomine's gorgeously tanned muscles from up close. 

“Hello Aominecchi~!” I sang, my voice brimming with sarcasm as I neared Aomine who had now dismounted Raiu to take a break.

“Go die blondie.” He retorted, thus completing our customary greeting. 

Since I was practically living at Shiroiyuri Stables at the moment and spending every waking moment of my day training (with the exception of weekends), Aomine and I were, by virtue of circumstances, spending quite a lot of time in each other’s presence. Though most of that time passed in silent observation – my silent observation of Aomine, to be exact – enough insults were exchanged between the two of us for me to stop taking any of them to heart. Our exchanges felt more like a ‘creative slander competition’ than anything else. Moreover, as aggravating as his disinterested attitude was, I believed him to be a man of his word, so I was able to remain a bit calmer around him.

While approaching Aomine I let Kumo naturally slow down into a walk, but as all I had wanted to do was greet him (his presence alone was enough of a distraction) I was about to adjust my hold on the reins to switch back to a canter when;

“You’re focusing on the horse too much.” Aomine remarked abruptly, and I all but jumped from surprise, causing Kumo to stop dead in his tracks.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I countered, visibly confused as I wheeled around fervently atop Kumo to face him. “Of course I’m focusing on my horse; unlike _some people_ I need to train my ass off if I want to make it to Nationals.”

“Have you been asking Midorima for riding form advice?” He continued, completely ignoring what I had just said. I was quite thrown off by the accuracy of his question, but then remembered that Aomine was, after all, a pro racer so it was only natural for him to be able to spot that kind of stuff.

“Where are you going with this?” The question came out sounding more bitter than I intended, and I bit my lip out of aggravation.

“I should be asking you that,” He straightened his back and reached for his shoulder to slide his backpack from it, letting the backpack slide off his arm and land on the grass with a soft _thump_. “because you won’t get far with asking a _jump racer_ for advice when trying to qualify for _flat racing_ Nationals.” His voice, albeit mocking, lacked its usual rude edge and his signature smirk was missing too.

This may have been the first time that Aomine told me something which served a function other than that of an insult – though it was undoubtedly meant to be at least partly insulting. This was also the closest Aomine and I ever came to having a ‘civil conversation’ and yet rather than happy I found myself annoyed at the fact that he was offering me advice. I had been completely fine, grateful even, for advice received from Kagami, Kuroko – heck, even Midorima – but hearing Aomine say those words felt like proof of his superiority over me. Which was a very obvious, and quite a dumb, thing to be annoyed at – he the professional here, not me.

“What do you care anyway?” I demanded, snapping back into reality. Though the logical thing to do, in order to improve and become Aomine’s equal, was to take any and all advice he offered, I couldn’t hide my irritation at that self-assured little smile he was giving me while he sized me up with a devious glint in his cobalt eyes.

“No reason, really.” He shrugged matter-of-factly before crossing the distance between us in a few long strides, “Just though I’d make sure you’d be able to entertain me for a little bit longer.” His gaze now shifted from me to Kumo – he folded his arms slowly, while scrutinizing his every detail.

_‘The fuck is that supposed to mean?’_

“The curb strap is way too loose. No wonder you’re so shit at gait-switching.” He remarked before I could verbalize my thoughts, and immediately got to work in adjusting it. Once again, his comment caught me off guard – he was always so blasé about everything, I guess I just assumed his technical knowledge was… well. Absent.

Just as I opened my mouth to thank him, Aomine finished tightening the curb strap and, without another word, sat himself behind me atop Kumo in one nimble motion.

If I had been confused before, I was now positively discombobulated.

“H-hey!” I protested, my voice stuttering from bewilderment at this turn of events, “This is an invasion of my privacy!”

“Our every interaction until now has been an invasion of _my_ privacy; it’s time you got a taste of your own medicine.” He laughed into my ear, sending a feverish jolt of electricity down my spine. I scanned his voice for traces of annoyance, but found none.

“Aominecchi, you’re not making any sense.” I argued, fixing my gaze on the faraway forest, willing myself not to think too much about how incredibly muscular Aomine’s chest felt pressed against my back. It (among various other things) was hard.

I continued to blindly stare ahead as I felt Aomine reach both arms forward and grab Kumo’s reins, and all the while I felt my cheeks turn an embarrassingly bright shade of red.

“Put your hands on mine,” He instructed, and at this point I thought I was imagining things.

“Come on blondie, I don’t have all day!” He added, that familiar annoyed edge clear in his voice. If only my heart could beat any faster than it already was, I’m sure it would’ve.

“O-ok hold on a moment!” I stammered back. It took me a few seconds but I finally managed to reach a brain-body coordination adequate to comply with Aomine’s ridiculous instruction. As soon as our hands made contact I felt a thrilling wave of heat surge through my body. I dared myself to look down, heart threatening to beat right out my chest, and I felt my already excessive blush intensify even more. 

“Alright copycat –  now try and keep up.” I could literally see that smug grin of him spreading across his face from the tone of voice with which he spoke, and I began to wonder how on Earth was I going to be able to learn anything in this state – just keep my breathing level was proving to be difficult enough task.

The words had barely left his mouth when, with a few dexterous movements of the reins, Aomine sent Kumo galloping across the overgrown meadow like lightning. I gasped at the sudden movement, causing Aomine to chuckle delightedly behind me. 

“I don’t know what Tetsu and the others have told you,” He began, his calm almost lazy-sounding voice completely contrasting with the incredible speed of Kumo’s gallop, “but the actual secret to horse riding isn’t the ability to _synchronize with your horse,_ or to _listen to your horse,_ or any of that bullshit – you gotta make the horse listen to you. That way, you’ll be fine no matter what horse you ride.”

“Wow Aominecchi – this may be the first smart thing I’ve heard you say since me met.” I joked, not wanting him to know just how big of an impression his words left on me – the only thing worse than an annoyed Aoime, was a cocky Aomine.

“Perhaps one day I’ll be able to tell you the same.”

I decided to let that one slide, and instead I focused on trying to memorize the intricate hand movements that Aomine was using to flawlessly control Kumo. ‘Control’ really was the right way to describe it – not a single one of the horses’ movements wasn’t a direct result of Aomines’ commands. Though despite his obvious command over Kumo, the two of them were also undeniably in synchronization, and I was beginning to understand what Aomine had meant by ‘making the horse listen to you’ being the secret. Previously, I had been convinced that achieving a perfect rider-horse synchronization was an ‘end point’ of horse riding. Yet now as I watched Aomine elicit from Kumo a speed beyond anything I ever managed with such a confident ease, I realized synchronization to be a means to an end, rather than an end in of itself – the strength and timing of his movements was impeccably harmonized with Kumo. And it was this harmony that he exploited to lead Kumo; like a very bossy dance partner.

By now we must have already circled this great, overrun meadow about ten times – I had lost count in my zealous struggle to absorb as much of the manoeuvres Aomine was presenting me with. I was calmer now than at the beginning, but it was a hugely difficult task nonetheless. In the moment that Aomine first launched Kumo into that marvellous gallop I realized why he asked me to hold onto his hands – his movements were strong and curt, yet simultaneously subtle it would be impossible for me to truly _see_ them with eyes alone.

 _‘No wonder I wasn’t able to copy his movement before,’_ I sighed as Aomine swiftly slowed Kumo slowed into a walk, _‘honestly – I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to do it now.’_

Midorima’s even voice reached me just as Aomine dismounted my horse, and I all but fell out of the saddle from surprise.

“What an improbable turn of events.” He stated, standing some distance away.

“Does your lucky item today happen to be a _punch_ in the face?” Aomine barked without so much as a glance in Midorima’s direction.

“No, it is in fact a grandfather clock.” He replied in his typical business-like tone, as unruffled by Aomine’s rudeness as always.

“Midorimacchi! Thanks for coming, but-” I began trying to calm the situation, but my voice got caught in my throat when I spotted a frenzied Sakurai, desperately battling with, and to hold onto the magnificent grandfather clock which usually stood in the reception’s lounge area. The pure panic in his eyes indicated that the huge object could overpower and crush him at any given moment.

“MIDORIMA WHAT THE FU- SAKURAI!” I called out, flabbergasted, “Put that down before you get yourself killed!”

“No. It’s still too far away. Bring it closer Sakurai.” Midorima countered, looking over his shoulder at the exhausted brunette.

“Oh my _God!_ ” I yelled at him, trying to gather my thoughts – all of this was beginning to be too much for one day, “What is this goddam _grandfather clock_ doing out here?” I demanded.

“I thought I already told you; Man proposes, God disposes. I am a man that proposes; I always carry my lucky item of the day with me as my horoscope said.” He declared, his voice tinged with frustration, “And today will be no different.”

“I’ll be heading off.” Aomine interjected, unshaken by the absurd situation.

Then, just as he was passing me, he stopped for a moment to put a hand on my shoulder and tell me something that I could not forget in a thousand years;

“You’ll make it to the Nationals – and that kinda pisses me off.”


	8. Enter: Riko Aida

_‘Nice to meet you, Riko-san. I look forward to working with you.’_

_‘Or maybe… I look forward to training with you.’_

_‘No… no maybe… I look forward to_ being trained _by you.’_

_‘No that’s too lengthy.’_

_‘I look forward… maybe I shouldn’t say ‘I look forward’ at all? I could come across as presumptuous or like I’m already assuming she’ll agree?’_

_‘Goddammit. This is too stressful!’_

I clicked my tongue while pacing aimlessly from one side of my room to the other. Earlier this morning Kuroko texted me saying Riko-san was at the stables and that he was going to speak to her about my training again. He told me it’d be good if I was there as well, and we arranged for the three of us to meet in the lounge area at noon.

It was currently 11:50 and I was getting more and more nervous by the second. It was the paralyzing-realization kind of nervous – the one that hits you right before a difficult exam, even though you were perfectly relaxed just moments ago, and renders you surprised at your own reaction. And I was definitely surprised.

The coefficient of loss aversion equals about two, meaning the frustration that humans experience as a result of losing something is approximately twice as strong as the joy experienced as a result of gaining that same ‘something’. While I always instinctively knew that concept to be true, I could feel its heavy reality pressing on my chest. Before Tetsu mentioned Riko I wouldn’t have even considered getting a personal coach; but now, after that possibility was presented to me I suddenly realized how much was to gain, how much more I could learn, how much _better_ I could get with that kind of guidance. Ever since I found out about the possibility of having an individual trainer, I had been nothing but excited, and yet as all of my aspirations and fears mingled in my head into a humming mess, my excitement was rapidly turning into a stressful feeling of suspense.

As I walked through the grand main doors into Shiroyuri’s reception area, I felt my uncomfortably quick heartbeat all the way in the back of my throat. I was hoping to see Kagami’s flamboyant grin and to talk with him a little to calm my nerves, but he was nowhere to be seen – probably slacking off somewhere instead of doing his job properly. Sighing to myself, I turned into a wide corridor which branched off to the right and lead to the lounge area.

“Kise! Good to see ya man!” Kasamastu spoke in a quiet voice from a little way down the corridor.

“Hey!” I called out, and was hushed by Kasamastu almost immediately.

“Keep it down; I’m trying to hear what they’re saying inside.” He motioned to where the corridor curved behind him and opened to the lounge, “Tetsu is really working hard to get her to agree but…”

I felt my chest tighten at his comment, and when I opened my mouth to speak my jaw felt unnaturally stiff.

Just then, I heard what must have been Riko-san’s voice, coming from the lounge;

“Kuroko I understand he’s your friend,” from her troubled tone of voice, I could tell she was about to go into a monologue about how training me is just impossible at the moment.

“Oh no no _no!”_ I mumbled desperately, glancing towards my best friend who rose one side of his mouth in a ‘ _I’m really sorry’_ kind of gesture.

And something just switched on in me, in that split second. In that split second, I realized that I was about to lose the amazing opportunity of having a personal trainer, and with that, I was most probably losing my chance of getting into the Nationals.

And with that I was losing…

“Excuse my intrusion Riko-san!” My voice shaking I barged into the room, the entirety of the pervious exchange occurring before Riko-san managed to finish her sentence. The two of them were sat at a small coffee table by one of the many floor length windows that covered most of the west wall of the lounge room.

‘ _This is- I have to- I have to right now tell her_ everything! _I have to face her and spill all of my hopes and motivations and I need to make her care and I have about three minutes to do it!’_ These thoughts seemed to completely fill my mind like a nervous, bubbling mess as I stood face to face with Riko for the first time.

This entire exchange took no longer than ten seconds, and what followed did so at an equally ridiculous pace.

“OHMYGOD!” She exploded as she positively ejected herself from her chair at the sound of my voice, “I-IT’S KISE RYOUTA! KUROKO! What is Kise Ryouta doing here?!” Her voice had a much higher pitch than I had anticipated as she whirled around to face me.

“Kise-kun is the friend I was talking about – the one I was asking you to train.” He replied with angelic oblivion to Riko-san’s sudden outburst.

“Whaaaat?” She wheeled around to face him – this time her voice sounded a bit more normal, “Why didn’t just say so then? We could have avoided all this needless discussion!”

Before Kuroko had the chance to answer, Riko practically sprinted over to where I stood, and proceeded to give me a crushingly strong hug.  A hug that, might I add I wasn’t able to return because she had grabbed around the waist and caught both my arms – despite that she sounded absolutely delighted as she chirped enthusiastically;

“I am your _biggest fan!_ Oh, I can’t believe this is happening – I have the honour of being Kise-san’s coach!”

All I managed in response was a few numb nods, and an even dumber grin.

I had come prepared for a different battle.

 

 

 

******

 

 

The fact that I had managed to survive the next few days of Riko’s agonizingly intense training was a true miracle. As cliché as that sounded, there was really no other way to put it. Her initial fangirl reaction to me during our first meeting left me thinking ‘ _Sure, she may be tough on everyone else, but surely she’ll go easy on me if I give her a whiff of my charm.’_

Needless to say; no matter how many charm-ful whiffs I sent flying her way, Riko didn’t go easy on me. In fact, I had a feeling that because she was such a huge fan of mine, she was being _especially_ hard on me. It felt as though she changed into an entirely different person the moment we began training; the innocent excitation she usually exhibited around me would disappear in favour of a stern and professional demeanour. She’d also drop the ‘san’ honorific she typically added onto my name when we weren’t training. Still, she was a damn good coach, albeit a scarily tough one.

“Quit day-dreaming Kise!” She reprimanded, before vigorously slapping Kumo on the buttock which caused him to launch into a fierce gallop without warming.

“H-hey steady now Kumo!” I stammered out, “Rikocchi can you not try getting me killed for just _one afternoon!”_ I yelled while trying to regain my composure after all but falling of Kumo mid-gallop – seeing as he was still lurching across the vast meadow, it wasn’t an easy exercise.

“Shut up no one’s trying to kill anybody,” She brushed me off, “Now get that horse under control like the prodigious man I know you are!”

“Alright, alright.” I exhaled while adjusting the grip on my reins as previously instructed by Riko – firmly gripping each rein between my pinky and index fingers so that its remainder lay across the top of palm, with my thumbs facing upward. With one swift flick of my wrist Kumo slowed to a trot, turned left and back towards Riko-san, just as instructed.

“Good,” Riko-san called out from now some distance, sounding ever so slightly less annoyed than before, “I think you’re getting the hang of it… now do a hundred more laps just to make sure.”

“WHAT?” I wailed though honestly, I should have expected it – something like this was exactly her style, “That too harsh, even for you.” I sighed while giving Riko the best ‘sad puppy face’ I could muster.

“You’re complaining now, but I know you always get here ahead of time and train.” She countered, smiling delicately, “Now stop talking and start riding.”

I laughed while shaking my head at her as I rode past, trying to hide my surprise at the fact she knew I came in early to train – I didn’t think anyone noticed.

As intense as she was, I must admit I liked Riko – she was very dependable and I could tell she genuinely wanted to help me and see me succeed. For now, it was safe to assume that was just because of my reputation as a demonically flirtatious model but, hey, any reason is good so long as it gets me into the Nationals.

“Yes ma’am” I flashed her a devilish grim before switching into the faster gait with blissful ease. Today was only our third day of practicing gait-switching and I was proud to admit that I was getting pretty good at it.

“Alright,” Riko called out to me as she folded her arms, arching her chin slightly upwards – that was her signature battle stance, as I came to call it, and it could only mean one thing;

“Canter.” She ordered flatly, her facial expression having become notably more serious.

Giving her a curt nod, I switched gaits as instructed, and braced myself for yet another day of murderous training.

In the relatively brief time that I knew and worked with Riko, I picked up on one crucial detail of her personality – the less she said, the more serious (or angry) she was. So, I knew _real training_ only started with Riko’s one-word orders – she’d stand somewhere on the meadow, always making sure to remain within my hearing distance, and yell out the gait she wanted me to switch into at random intervals for hours on end. A simple, yet surprisingly effective method of training.

A few hours went by in this fashion of Riko calling out instructions and me obeying them silently, and a familiar stiffness was beginning to creep into my thighs and back. I was acutely aware of my every single muscle and joint, and places on my body I never knew could be sore were burning with fatigue.

Hence, feeling like a demure high school boy about to confess to his senpai, I was gathering the courage to ask Riko-san to take a small break when out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of an all too familiar black horse.

“You’re here on a Sunday?” Aomine clicked his tongue in annoyance; the question was directed only at Riko-san, and I could sense an angry tension filling the air around us.

“What do you want? _”_ She barked in response, her piercing gaze following Aomine’s every move as he dismounted Raiou a small distance from where we stood.

“Nothing really,” His shrugged while nonchalantly making his way towards Riko-san and me, “I heard that the famous Riko took to training someone for the first time in three years, and my curiosity got the better of me.”

Riko cocked an eyebrow at Aomine like she didn’t exactly believe what he was saying, and opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off by Aomine, who had now made his way over to where I was standing.

“Though I already had a strong premonition about who the lucky idiot might be.” He grinned at me, before shooting me the sexiest of winks I had ever encountered in my humble existence. It took every ounce of self-restraint I possessed to maintain my composure and not go into a fangirl-mode as Riko was presently doing – I couldn’t even get too mad about being called an idiot.

“Well of course it would be Kise-san; there’s no one else in the world whom I’d want to train more than him.”

“ _San?_ ” Aomine smirked in amusement, “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for blondie with biceps?”

“H-hey!,” She protested, a small blush mounting her cheeks, “No one’s in love! It’s only natural to want to help out your ultimate idol.”

“Idol?” Aomine furrowed his brows and gave me a look so full of surprize, Riko might as well have just told him I was actually a talking goat in disguise, “What are you a model or something?” he snickered, clearly amused by the idea.

Even though it was quite obvious that Aomine had no idea about my modelling career, as was to be expected, that fact still frustrated me – after all I’ve been modelling for three years and I was pretty popular, and it was something I definitely took pride in.

“Actually I-” I raised my voice, ready to defend my career but was abruptly cut off by an exasperated Riko who seemed to be _even more_ ready to defend my career than I was.

“Kise-san isn’t just _a_ model,” She exclaimed, slapping Aomine on the shoulder, “He has maintained a steady position in Japan’s top ten male models since virtually the beginning of his career three years ago. Not only _that_ – he’s signed to Maxin and has now been their top-grossing model for two consecutive years. But, seeing as in his career he’s done one hundred and two photoshoots, thirty-five magazine covers, and seventy-seven TV appearances, it’s not that surprising. But it’s only to be expected that people of _your_ calibre wouldn’t have that sort of social awareness.” She finished, giving Aomine a murderous look.

She delivered her speech in a Midorima-worthy business-like voice, and by the end of it I couldn’t tell which one of us, Aomine or myself, was more surprised at that level of detail. Aomine eyed me up and down as though trying to find evidence of the achievements listed by Riko on my face. I, on the other hand, was just flabbergasted as her sudden outpour that all I could do was shrug with this ‘ _I’m just as confused by this as you are.’_ look.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He countered, causing Riko let out an annoyed sigh and one more roll her eyes at him.

“As fascinating as all this sounds,” Aomine began after a short pause, already walking back towards Raiou, “I should get back to training.”

 _‘Well that’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear him say.’_ I smiled to myself before speaking, “It’s good to hear you say that.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He answered dispassionately, waving his arm without turning around to face us.

“Aomine,” Riko called out to him, sounding more like her non-fangirl self now, “Have you got your tournament attire ready for Regionals?”

“Nope.” He responded while adjusting Raiou’s saddle without.

“What would Princess Bubblegum think of that careless attitude of yours?” She remarked meanly, folding her arms across her chest.

Aomine’s entire body stiffened at Riko’s remark, and when he spoke again, his voice was stained with anger.

“Do not bring her into this – especially not in front of Kise.”

“You don’t have to be so _protective_ of her.” Riko teased, obviously pleased with the reaction she managed to get from Aomine.

“Don’t talk about things you know nothing about.” He fumed, and his tone had a finality to it which even Riko seemed to grasp as signifying the end of that topic – whatever _that_ topic was.

“Mmhm,” She mumbled, a small smile mounting her lips, “You’ll go with Kise-san then; he doesn’t own any suitable equestrian attire, and doesn’t know where to shop for it either. You’ll help him out.” She professed.

“Make me.” Aomine challenged, looking straight at Riko for the first time since his arrival.

“You know I will.”

Aomine set out an exaggerated sigh of annoyance before swiftly mounting Raiou.

 “Curiosity killed the cat.” He muttered, more to himself than anyone else, before breaking into gallop without another glance in our direction. 

“I don’t think that went so well.” I gave Riko a weary expression.

“Don’t you worry Kise-san,” she chirped with a self-assured grin on her face, “Curiosity killed the cat, _but satisfaction brought it back_.” She finished with giving me a mischievous wink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm facing a bit of a dilemma...  
> For the next chapter I need to pick a car for Aomine and I'm stuck between giving him some sleazy sports car, since I get the feelings he'd be really into fast cars, but then I also feel like he'd like to own some Jeep-type thing as well.  
> I guess since he's a rich sportsman he could have both but it's about the first impression you know? :P


	9. Feel My Wrath and Extreme Self-Doubt

Saturday found me staring myself down in my floor-length mirror with quite the hybrid of emotions. Excitement and frustration was swimming through my mind, preventing me from diverging my thoughts onto another important issue at hand – what in the hell I was supposed to put for this shopping trip with Aominecchi?

_Shopping trip with Aominecchi…_

That phrase alone was enough to send my heart fluttering and plaster that idiotic, love-struck maiden grin on my face – I mentally scolded myself when I saw its reflection in the mirror.

“Calm down Ryouta,” I sighed to myself, “there’s like a ninety-nine percent chance that he’s got a girlfriend.” I thought back to his obviously uncomfortable reaction to Riko mentioning ‘princess bubblegum’ in front of me. That _had_ to have been because they’re dating, and he doesn’t want me to stick my nose into his personal life.

 _‘I’m already doing that enough as it is’_ I heaved another drawn-out sigh as I continued to stare at my baggy grey sweats and white tee, as though doing so would magically transform them into something more ‘effortless cool’ as opposed to my current ‘effortless… effortless’.

So I guess ‘disappointment’ could be a better way of describing that second feeling floating around in the back of my mind, keeping my excitement at bay. Though as the events from earlier on this morning came rushing back, I wasn’t quite so sure.

Dad had just been doing the washing-up after breakfast humming some ‘80’s song, looking like something straight out of a shoujou-ai manga in a frilly pink apron, when my phone vibrated to notify me that I received a message.

 

Aominecchi:

I’ll come pick you up, so just text me your address

 

 _‘Like a date!’_ The thought popped into my mind before I could restrain myself, and by the time I had the good sense to mentally scold myself because this was most certainly _not like a date,_ the all-too-familiar heat was already burning up my cheeks.

“What are you grinning at that phone for, huh?” My dad teased. I didn’t even realize I was smiling, and as I hurriedly lifted my face from the screen, dad’s devious smirk caused my already excessive blush to intensify.

“N-nothing.”  I stammered, sounding a little too defensive. Dad cocked an eyebrow at me in a manner that was skeptical to say the least, “It’s just Aominecchi – we’re supposed to go shopping for riding clothes later today, so he’s just texted me say he’ll come pick me up.”

“Like a date~!” He sang out, his eyes alight with a teenage-girls’ enthusiasm, perfectly complementing that ridiculous, pink apron.

“No it’s not! This is Aominecchi we’re talking about here.” I argued.

“Whatever you say,” He giggled, a sly grin plastered onto his face, “but you have been talking about little else besides him for quite sometime now…” he mused, before turning his attention back to the dishes.

The memory made me let out a resigned laugh, which really sounded more like a sharp exhale than anything else, and I was disconcerted to discover from the mirror’s reflection that I was, once again, blushing like I was the heroine of some poorly-crafted shojou-manga.

“What the- is there something wrong with your circulation?” I questioned my reflection, “Just get yourself dressed you delusional fanboy.”

 

****

Aomiecchi:

I’m outside

 

 _“Ah, of course you are,”_ I laughed softly to myself while shaking my head, _“I don’t even know why I expected him to come knock on the door.”_

“Dad! I’ll be heading out now, bye!” I called out from the hallway.

“Wait a second!” He called out to be from somewhere upstairs. With a soft _patting_ voice, he came down and into the hallway.

His expression was unusually serious, and I raised my eyebrows at him in question.

“I just wanted to say this – even though you claim there’s nothing between you and this boy-”

“Dad, it’s not just a _claim_ – it’s true there’s nothing between us just-”

“Let me finish.” The sternness of his voice threw me completely off balance. “Be careful Kise. I know you’re not ready to come out yet, so just be careful today. Rumors about you being gay are already floating around and I know how much they stress you out. So be careful.”

“Oh come on dad!” I sighed with relief – he looked so serious I thought someone died. “There’s nothing to worry about here, but thank you for always looking out for me.” I smiled before giving him a light hug.

You know how in movies you sometimes have a montage of the protagonist going through the motions of getting ready to go out, and then right as the scene is about to conclude something really bizarre happens, the music gets cut off, and the camera just stops?

Well, standing atop of the stairs leading into my driveway, one hand still on the doorknob, staring at what could only be described as the world’s ugliest car – it felt like that kind of scene.

“Hey blondie,” Aomine nodded in my direction, leaning casually against… how do I even describe this vehicle? It was a square, Jeep-like thing that looked like a prop from some big-budget war movie. Its only redeeming quality was its deep navy color which perfectly complemented Aomine’s tan skin.

“Hey – nice… Jeep?” I replied, not even trying to sound convincing.

“Oi, you wanna walk to Ginza?” Aomine demanded, raising both his eyeborws at me with exaggerated indignation, “Also, it’s a Mercedes.”

“Wow,” I laughed, “I’ve never seen an ugly Mercedes before.”

I couldn’t help but notice how much of a good mood Aominecchi was in – he was freely joking around with me and his voice lacked its usual rude edge. He was also laughing more than I’ve ever seen him do before, and it was a ‘smiling kind’ of laughing: the kind that doesn’t really need a joke to set it off, just a good mood where you smile with your whole face and then your smile begins to overflow into a laugh, if that even makes sense. It was so nice to finally see Aominecchi’s smile reach his eyes.

“So how come you agreed to this so easily?” I asked when we were already seated in his car, carefully observing Aomine’s reaction – I really didn’t want to ruin this exceptional moment that we seemed to be having.

“No reason, really.” He shrugged, still smiling that incredible smile of his. “I knew Riko would lynch me if I didn’t take you, and to be honest any reason to get out of the stables is good enough for me.”

I was just about to ask him why, but I bit my tongue. Did I already mention how I didn’t want to ruin this moment?

“Hey, is that you?” Aomine asked all of a sudden. His eyes were widened in surprise, and he was bending forward behind the steering wheel to get a better look at something.

My jaw fell open when I caught up with his gaze to see what he was staring at so intently.

Me.

Well, not literally. But almost – a gigantic poster of me. And I mean _gigantic._

“Y-yeah,” I stammered.

 And then I suddenly remembered something that I couldn’t believe I had forgotten.

“My photobook comes out tomorrow!” I exclaimed, sounding surprised at my own words.

“So…” Aomine pondered. “People are actually going to pay for a book full of pictures of you?” He sounded positively amused by the idea.

“Shut up, idiot.” I countered, shaking my head giggling.

We were pulling into the heart of the Ginza shopping district, and it was absolutely packed with people. Not a single free parking space in sight.

“Tch, shit.” Aomine clicked his tongue, in a manner so attractive it bewildered me. “I’m gonna have to make a u-turn and try somewhere further up.”

“Ok sure-” I began, but then swallowed my own words as Ahomine violently steered the car directly into and over the strip of pavement dividing the road. “What are you doing?” I cried, holding onto my seat for dear life.

“I’m making a _u-turn_ – do you know what that is Blondie?” He commented smugly. “It’s kinda like an upside down kick.” He laughed while gesticulating right in front of my face as we were literally driving diagonally across the pavement.

“Both hands on the wheel!” I yelled, slapping his arm away wildly. Aomine simply laughed harder in response, leaning his hair back.

I couldn’t help with think how beautiful he was when we was happy like this.

Some time later, we had finally found a parking space a few blocks down from where the store was. But the crowds were seriously out of this world so we had to push through at an agonizingly slow pace. My mind was drifting away when, all of a sudden, I heard my own voice, sounding incredibly excited, echoing from a pair of speakers somewhere in a distance. I heard it for all of two seconds before it was drowned out by a frantic chorus of screaming girls.

And then everything clicked.

‘ _I need to get out of here.’_ I thought in a frenzy, turning to speak to Aomine. But in that instant, the sudden realization that I was surrounded by a sea of my fans all waiting to see a promo event for my photobook took a toll on my mind-body coordination and I tripped and landed face-first on the pavement. Almost instinctively, I pulled my hoodie down firmly over my hair, and held onto its hood to keep me as covered as possible as I got up to scan the crowd for Aomine.

A few desperate moments of looking for is familiar muscular frame yielded no results and my brain was going into overdrive. I definitely couldn’t let myself get recognized – it’d be an absolute mob. Not to mention; I’m here with another man.

Then, as if by some sick joke I heard Aomine’s booming voice spread through the crowd.

“Yo Kise!! KISEEE, where’d you go? Is that you on the screen? OI, KISE?!”

My heart sunk in my chest deeper and deeper with every mention of my name. His voice was so loud I felt like my eardrums would burst. No wait. That was just my heartbeat, filling up my head.

For a moment, I stood completely still – but the crowd didn’t let me stay this way for long. Heads began turning, an excited murmur reverberated through the shifting mass of girls – they were searching for me. I tried to step in harmony with the crowd. But there was no harmony, so I bumped into this girl’s shoulder. And she looked.

And then her eyes widened like she was a blind woman seeing the world for the first time.

And she screamed – my god did she scream. And then everyone was screaming, and tugging at me and yelling out questions, and a thousand other things I could not even register.

It was like an out-of-body experience – the shock and frenzy of it all made me regress deep into my mind and for a split second I felt like I was floating above myself.

It was only for a split second though – thankfully I somehow managed to regain my senses and attempt to deal with this hoard of fans all but tearing me apart.

“Are you shirtless in any of the photos?!” somebody yelled out, and a chorus of ‘oh my god’s ensued.

 _‘Am I even allowed to reveal this kind of information?’_ I thought to myself. 

“I’m really sorry I can’t reveal anything about the photobook – but I do hope you buy it and enjoy it.” I replied, trying to sound as level as one can in this situation.

A wave of a million other questions ensued: about the photobook, me, why I was here, what brands I was wearing, what I ate for breakfast… This game of the girls throwing questions at me, and the dodging the answers continued for what felt like a century, and all I could think was;

‘ _I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here and find that bastard and skin him alive and make him into a saddle.’_

“Oi, outta my way!” His usually annoyed voice reached me from somewhere behind me, and I turned to see his tall, tan figure angrily pushing his way towards me.

 _‘Oh no… oh no **no no no no NO!’**_ My mind raced. I began shaking him head slightly to signal him not to come any closer – not to speak to me. But this dimwit wasn’t even looking at me. He only turned to face me when he was right in front of my sorry face.

And, by that time, was there anything left to do except go with the flow and write off my career?

As Aomine forcibly grabbed my arm and proceeded to drag me back towards his ugly ass car after barking, “Kise really needs to go now because he’s wasting my time.” I did not think so.

I was too shock to yell, to even pull away from his iron grip. I was horribly aware of all the camera flashes and my fans stared in sheer disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of them. A violent reaction from me at this point would only make matter worse. If that was even possible.

 

****

 

 “What the _fuck_ was that?” I fumed, the moment the car doors closed. “Is this some kind of game to you?”

“Wha-” Aomine froze in his seat to look at me, clearly surprised by my sudden outburst. “What’s your problem?”

“ _What’s my problem?!”_ My anger intensified as his glaring ignorance. “You purposefully yelled out my name back there to make sure I was noticed and mobbed by all these girls – and then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, to came and dragged me out of the crowd as I was speaking to them!”

“Stop fucking yelling!” Aomine’s voice was raising too as he furrowed his brows from annoyance. “I had to drag your ass back here or else we’d be stuck out there for ages, and I didn’t think-

“You didn’t think!” I barked, cutting him off. I’ve had had enough – I felt my eyes sting with the threat of tears, but I wasn’t going to allow myself to cry in front of him. “You didn’t think – that’s’ the problem. But these girls are going to think, and I don’t even want to imagine what.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Aomine mumbled, his voice sharp with annoyance. He turned to face the dashboard, started the car, and drove towards the parking lot exit much faster than he should’ve.

“Just how much of a self-centered asshole are you?” I hissed, my stare fixed on the view of the street in front of me biting back the increasing urge to cry as the weight of the situation continued to press down on me. “I’m a model. _I cannot date. I’m prohibited from dating_ by my contract and _you_ – you have just started a shitstrom of rumors about me possibly dating a man!”

Then, as if summoned, my phone began to ring – its upbeat ringtone sounded almost mocking amidst the awkward silence of Aomine’s car. It was Aina, my manager. Taking a deep breath to steady my voice, I picked up, not really sure of what I should expect.

“Ryouta what are you _doing?”_ She yelled down the line, her voice an explosive mix of anger and panic. “I have Maxin _on hold_ at this very moment asking me about why you’re out in public with _Aomine Daiki?_ And you better have some good fucking explanation as to why that is and why I didn’t know about this in advance! What are you thinking – going out in public with a pro horse-racer of all things! Do you want to get fired – do you remember you have _a contract to uphold?!_ ”

“Aina I am so _so sorry.”_ Hearing my manager’s anguished voice was the last straw. I felt the coldness of my tears silently rolling down my cheeks as I continued to blindly stare ahead in my seat.

“I don’t want to hear that right now!” She snapped. “Just explain so I can begin to clean up this mess.”

So I did. Voice cracking, and lips shaking I explained to her how this horrific mess of a situation came around like my life depended on it. Because it did.

“Ok… alright Ryouta.” Aina inhaled deeply, taking in what I had just told her. “Before anything else, here’s what we’re gonna do – I’m going to tell Maxin that you and Aomine are nothing but acquaintances. That’s the easy part.” She paused.

“Yes.” I croaked, my throat having gone completely dry.

“ _You_ , then, are going to make everyone believe it – you are going to _grovel on your knees_ to convince Maxin and, more importantly, your fans that you are as single as a motherfucking dollar. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, uh, _yes. I understand.”_ I was somehow able to regain my composure, at least to a certain extent. Hearing Aina speak with that divine, steady and professional voice of hers brought me back from my panicked mind into reality. “I’ll take care of my side of things. And – just as a side note – I really am single. This wasn’t a date you have to believe me”

“Yeah, I believe you.” She sighed, her voice milder but still strained. There was a long pause on her end, and then Aina’s voice reached to me over the phone with a new anxiety. “But do you have feelings for this guy?”

I had been so absorbed in my conversation with Aina, that I all but forgot about my immediate surroundings – I was only vaguely aware of the passing scenery as Aomine’s disastrously ugly car carried on down the highway. But my attention was brought back to the car when Aomine suddenly started shifting in his seat, and he had a very uncomfortable look about him when I looked over to him. He didn’t meet my eyes but continued to stare at the road ahead – I couldn’t help but wonder if he had heard what Aina had just said.

That thought brought what I was about to do onto a whole different level of painful.

“No, of course not.” I lied, my heart breaking a little at ruining what miniscule chance I had with Aomine being romantically interested in me. I was surprised at how smooth and level my voice sounded – my heart was pounding so heavily I could feel that awkward pulsating sensation in my ears.

“Ryouta,” She began, and I could tell she wasn’t convinced. “You know that, as a celebrity, you can lie to the press, to brands, even to your fans. You have to, sometimes. But if you want to _get away with those lies,_ then you can not lie to me.”

I knew that.

I also knew that I would have to eventually tell her the truth.

But the only thing worse than lying about not having feelings in front of Aomine would be admitting to said feelings only to have to face his ridicule afterwards.

“Of course, I know that,” I affirmed. “I’m so sorry once again, but I’m going to have to hang up now – I think Makoto is trying to call me.”

“Ah I see,” She replied, and I could tell she was smiling – she was just the most amazing manager I could ask for. “I’ll call later – make sure to handle your side of things asap.”

‘Makoto’ was a code word that Aina and I used – any reference made to it within a conversation basically stood for ‘ _I’m not telling you the truth right now, or I can’t say what I really want to say, because of the social situation I’m in – I’ll tell you later.’_

“You really don’t like this car do you?”

“What?”

“It’s cool though – I get it.” He continued, “I’ll get a different one tomorrow – I think you’ll like that one more.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I think I’ll take the Lamborghini; I feel like you’re a Lambo-type of person.” He carried on, ignoring my questions. “It’s yellow, so you’ll match. Plus, it has tinted windows so there won’t be any chance of us getting spotted by your fans. Also, I’ll phone up the salon to book it for the afternoon, so we won’t run into anyone there as well – I know the owner, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Are you… are you actually saying you’re taking me to get these clothes tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but we’ll do it properly this time.”

I am probably insane.

I am probably a hypocrite.

I am definitely in love with Aomine Daiki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the car suggestions - I ended up going with the Jeep-type. Specifically I chose the Mercedes G550 :)  
> Storytime!  
> So get this. I was on a date a few nights ago, and I had a full-on heated discussion about the difference between ‘light’ and ‘bright’ colours – the guy I was with was just adamant that there’s no difference between ‘light pink’ and ‘bright pink’. This whole situation left me feeling quite frustrated, because to me the difference is obvious. So I was wondering which one of us is the weirdo.  
> But, then I had the idea that Aomine and Kise probably have similar arguments over that kind of stuff, which made me a little too happy for the grown woman I’m supposed to be.


End file.
